Exposure to pharmacists may shorten time to treatment intensification in T2D patients

Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who are exposed to a pharmacist have a shorter time to treatment intensification and a greater decrease in A1C compared with those managed solely by a medical provider, according to a study. Results, however, are not statistically significant.

Fifty patients with T2D were included in the study and were divided into pharmacist–physician managed (PPM) or usual medical care (UMC) cohorts.

The UMC cohort experienced significantly longer mean time to treatment intensification than the PPM cohort (325 vs 200 days; p=0.50).

There were more patients in the PPM cohort who achieved ≥0.5-percent reduction in A1C as compared to those in the UMC cohort (60 percent vs 44 percent; p=0.41). In addition, the PPM cohort had a greater mean decrease in A1C from baseline than did those in the UMC cohort (–1 percent vs –0.4 percent; p=0.24).

“Additional research is needed to evaluate the role of the pharmacist in improving clinical inertia in the management of T2D,” the authors said.

This retrospective matched cohort study at two academic family medicine clinics examined time to treatment intensification and changes in A1C among PPM patients compared to UMC patients with T2D. Individuals in each arm were matched 1:1 based on age, gender, race and primary care provider.

“Achievement of treatment goals for patients with T2D is suboptimal,” the authors said. “This is in part driven by a lack of treatment intensification when warranted, termed ‘clinical inertia’.”