A Multidisciplinary Diabetes Clinic Improves Clinical and Behavioral Outcomes in a Primary Care Setting

The percentage of adults achieving hemoglobin A1c goals less than 7% remains a challenge. The study objective was to evaluate effects of a multidisciplinary approach on behavioral outcomes and mean change in A1c in immediate start (intervention) versus 6-month delay (control) groups at 6 months. The study assessed 111 patients recruited from a safety-net primary care clinic with a pharmacist-led multidisciplinary team and found that the intervention improved mean A1c outcomes for patients with type 2 diabetes. A1c values were measured every 3 months, and a self-efficacy scale to measure behaviors was evaluated at baseline and 6 months. After 6 months from baseline, the intervention group showed an A1c decrease of 2.4 compared with the control group's 1.1 decrease. Mean increase in self-efficacy score in the intervention group at baseline versus after 6 months showed a statistically significant change (P = .01) compared with the control group (P = .26). Results revealed a post hoc association between A1c and PHQ-9 such that patients with higher baseline PHQ-9 scores experienced greater mean decrease in A1c. In the immediate start arm, mean A1c values decreased from 10.6 at baseline to 7.7 at month 12. For the delayed intervention group, mean A1c values decreased from 10.2 at baseline to 9.0 after 6 months.