The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7472 p377
6 October 2007

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Pharmacist interventions improve HbA_1c levels, not other outcomes

Pharmacist interventions can lead to reduced HbA_1c levels for diabetes patients, but other benefits are not clear, the authors of a meta-analysis conclude (Annals of Pharmacotherapy 2007;31:1569).

Investigators analysed data from 2,247 patients with diabetes in 16 studies and found that those who received a pharmacist intervention — which included diabetes education and medication management — saw significant reductions in HbA_1c levels (1.00 ± 0.28 per cent; P<0.001) but those in the control group did not (0.28 ± 0.29 per cent; P=0.335).

Pharmacist intervention produced greater reductions in HbA_1c than control (difference 0.62 ± 0.29 per cent; P=0.03).

However, for other patient outcomes, namely systolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, lipid levels, adherence, knowledge and quality of life, the pharmacist intervention was not shown to have a significant effect.

The authors suggest: “Future research should quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate the impact of pharmacists’ interventions on other diseases, …and try to identify specific areas of impact.

“Further intervention studies should be large (ie, both in sample size and length of follow-up), controlled and randomised and should evaluate different types of outcomes in the studied population and be directed toward high-risk/complex patients.”