“Impact of a Physician - Clinical Pharmacist Collaborative Approach on Improving the Clinical Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetic Patients”

Abstract

Background: Glycemic goals (HbA1c < 7%) are often not achieved in patients with type 2 diabetes despite the availability of many effective treatments. Several studies have established the important positive effects of pharmacist-led management on achieving glycemic control and other clinical outcomes in patients with diabetes. In most countries of Middle East region, the Pharmaceutical Care practice is not well established. Also the role of the clinical pharmacists in monitoring and educating diabetic patients is not well defined. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a clinical pharmacist-physician collaborative practice compared with usual care on improving outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Patients and Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 80 patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes (HbA1c > 7%) at a teaching hospital in Yemen. Patients were randomly allocated into control and intervention group. The intervention group patients received pharmaceutical care interventions developed by the clinical pharmacist in collaboration with the physician while the control group patients received usual care without clinical pharmacist’s input. Results: After the nine months follow-up, there was statically significant in a mean reduction of HbA1c between groups of this study (2.8 % in the intervention group versus 1.8 % in the control; P = 0.009). In addition, the clinical pharmacist intervention led to a significant improvement in patients’ health outcomes such adherence to medications and life style modifications. Conclusion: The results suggested the benefits of integrating clinical pharmacist services in multidisciplinary healthcare team of diabetes management. Key Words: Pharmaceutical care, Clinical pharmacy, Type 2 diabetes, HbA1c, Drug-related problems (DRPs).