Impact of a Pharmacist-Led Group Diabetes Class

Diabetes is a chronic disease that is associated with many other health problems, but studies have shown that patient education can improve outcomes. The purpose of this project was to determine if a pharmacist-led group diabetes education class led to improvement in hemoglobin A1c levels.

Pharmacists in a family medicine clinic conduct a group diabetes education class for patients seen within the health system. The once monthly, 90-minute education class includes content regarding pathophysiology, complications, monitoring, dietary and exercise recommendations, and common antidiabetic medications. Data were collected via retrospective chart reviews and included 66 patients. The primary outcome was change in A1c from pre-class measurement to first, post-class measurement at least 3 months after pre-class measurement. Secondary outcomes included pre-class to post-class changes in weight, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Outcome data were analyzed using a paired t-test and demographic data were presented with descriptive statistics.

The pharmacist-led diabetes education class was associated with statistically significant improvements on A1c lab values (mean decrease = 1.16%, p-value = 0.001) and weight (mean decrease = 1.8 kg, p-value = 0.03). However, SBP (mean decrease = 1.5 mmHg, p-value = 0.57) and DBP (mean decrease = 3.4 mmHg, p-value = 0.15) did not improve significantly.

The results from this study support the idea that diabetes education classes are beneficial for the patient in learning how to properly manage this disease state. Pharmacists can play a vital role in diabetes management through counseling and patient education, which can improve patient outcomes.