Outcomes of a pharmacist-managed clinic for underserved persons with unmanaged type 2 diabetes mellitus

A multidisciplinary approach is recommended for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM).

To evaluate the impact of a pharmacist intervention on haemoglobin A1c (HbA_1c), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and diabetes-related hospitalisations in an underserved cohort with unmanaged type 2 DM.

This analysis was a retrospective cohort study. Criteria for inclusion were persons with unmanaged type 2 DM defined as HbA_1c values ≥8% at time of enrolment, ≥18 years old, and enrolment in a pharmacist-managed clinic for ≥12 months. Pre- and post-intervention differences in HbA_1c, SBP and DBP values were assessed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). The risk of diabetes-related hospitalisations was estimated during the 12 months prior and during the 12 months post-intervention, and the relative risk (RR) was calculated.

Mean HbA_1c values at 3, 6 and 12 months post-intervention were lower than baseline values (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in mean HbA_1c values at 6 or 12 months compared to 3 months post intervention. Mean SBP values at 3, 6 and 12 months were lower than baseline (p < 0.05). Likewise, mean DBP values at 6 and 12 months were lower than baseline (p < 0.05). The estimated RR of diabetes-related hospitalisations was 0.40 (95% CI: 0.20-0.83; p = 0.013).

Enrolment in a pharmacist-managed diabetes program was associated with a significant reduction in HbA1c, SBP and DBP and reduction in risk of diabetes-related hospitalisations in an underserved cohort of patients with diabetes over a 12-month period.