Pharmacist-led diabetic patients monitoring in community pharmacy

Abstract

It is estimated that a diabetic patient visits the pharmacy more frequently than other patients and this provides an opportunity for pharmacists to contribute to the management of diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a pharmacist-led monitoring plan for diabetic patients in a community pharmacy setting, and improve patient knowledge, adherence to medications, and condition monitoring. Diabetic patients were recruited from one community pharmacy to participate in the study. The study was divided into 3 sessions carried out at baseline, after 6 months, and 12 months. Patient interviews were carried out using a developed questionnaire in which data relating to patient knowledge, treatment, views on treatment and condition, and management of diabetes was collected. The glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and random blood glucose (RBG) tests were performed during each session and the patient’s Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated. IBM SPSS® software was used to analyse the data obtained. At the start of the study 32 patients were recruited (16 females, 16 males) with a mean age of 59 years. In the study population 6 were type 1 diabetics and 26 were type 2 diabetics. The Wilcoxon-Signed Ranks test was used to compare the mean HbA1c, mean RBG and mean BMI. The mean reading for HbA1c improved significantly (p <0.05) from one session to another, with a reduction from 7.03% at T1, to 6.72% at T2 to 6.54% at T3 with the final reading being within the recommended range according to the American Diabetes Association. An improvement in random blood glucose readings, patient knowledge on condition and monitoring was observed. This study has demonstrated a feasible and effective pharmacist-led process of following-up diabetic patients in a community setting.