Pharmacy-led review for diabetes

PHARMACIST-LED review of diabetes patient care increased the number of key care processes administered and improved diabetic control during the year of program delivery, but abated during the year after, in a study supporting the management of type 2 diabetes (T2D).

The UK study out of Windsor and Leeds demonstrated the positive impact of pharmacist engagement in the processes and the need to make such programs ongoing rather than fixed term, authors asserted.

“The program combined the strategic drive and project facilitation skills of Slough CCG, the general practice teams’ knowledge of their patients and the clinical and information technology skills of an experienced pharmacist team,” said lead researcher Dr Tim Langran.

More than 5,900 patients with T2D were reviewed by pharmacists working with GP teams to schedule any of the nine key care processes recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) that the patients were lacking, to optimise medication and to make other interventions.

The study was one of the joint working initiatives created by Britain’s Royal College of General Physicians and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in order to identify areas where general practitioners and pharmacists can work together to improve the quality of patient care.

CLICK HERE for the BM abstract.