Physician-community pharmacist collaborative care in diabetes management: a pilot study

Background: Attaining therapeutic goals in diabetes mellitus (DM) is often suboptimal due to disease complexity, poor adherence and inadequate patient counseling. Aim: This study evaluated the effectiveness of the collaboration between the physicians and pharmacists in DM management. Design and setting: A pilot study was conducted between January 2015 and December 2015 in diabetic patients from four districts of Lebanon. Methods: A total of 200 patients with type 2 DM were recruited with 12 months of follow-up. A range of clinical measures, including medication adherence and self-care activities, were assessed over a period of 12 months. The protocol consisted of primary care physicians referring patients to community pharmacies. The participants were attended for 30 min in the pharmacy. They were asked to complete a questionnaire and then received counseling on their illness and their medication in an organized manner by the pharmacist once every month for 12 consecutive months. The primary outcome was the change in fasting blood glucose (FBG) after 12 months of follow-up. Results: A total of 200 patients completed the study. The primary endpoint decreased significantly from the baseline after 12 months of follow-up (mean difference: 30 mg/dl; 95% CI, 28–32; p < .001). The secondary endpoints, such as glycated hemoglobin, also showed an improvement after 12 months of follow-up. Conclusion: Collaborative care between the physician and the pharmacist was successful in reducing FBG and improving patient satisfaction and quality of care over 12 months of follow-up.