An evolving role of clinical pharmacists in managing diabetes: Evidence from the literature

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is a rapidly growing disease world-wide that is estimated to be present in 6.6% of the international population and projected to be increased by 7.8% in 2030. Treating diabetic patients is multifaceted in all aspects and they require objectives and optimum information in order to obtain the maximum benefits of their treatment and avoid complications. Pharmacists are increasingly considered as a part of the health care system. Hence, the aim of this review is to address and summarize the effectiveness of clinical pharmacists in managing diabetic patients. METHOD: This is a narrative review of the evidence from the literature in order to answer the present question of what is the evidence of the role of clinical pharmacists in managing diabetic patients. We searched five databases including: the Cochrane library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, TRIP, and Science Direct. We will also try to look for other potentially eligible trials or ancillary publications by searching the reference lists of retrieved included trials, (systematic) reviews, meta-analyses and health technology assessment reports. Outcomes included short-term and long-term measures. RESULTS: Final search revealed nine studies. They were heterogeneous in terms of interventions, participants, settings and outcomes. Studies varied in their quality and/or reporting of their findings conducted in several settings. Majority of the studies were conducted in Western countries, one in Hong Kong and one in South India. In majority of the studies, pharmacists’ role was mainly to specify all drug-related problems including poor drug compliance and side effects and communicating these to the physician. We found that those who received the pharmacist care had a statistically significant reduction in coronary heart disease, blood pressure, HA1c, quality of life and lipid profile. CONCLUSION: Our review demonstrated the important role of clinical pharmacists in managing diabetic patients at diverse settings worldwide. There is an urgent need to recognize and change regulations to allow shared practice agreements among physicians, pharmacists, and other allied health professionals. These mutual agreements would allow more streamlined provision of health care delivery from non-physician health professionals to participants with common health conditions.