Title

Family physician perceptions of the role and value of the clinical pharmacist in the management of patients with type 2 diabetes

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-2020

Publication Title

J AM Coll Clin Pharm

Abstract

Purpose: Clinical pharmacists can help primary care physicians (PCPs) manage medications for patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes Studies have shown that clinical pharmacist involvement in care can improve outcomes such as glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C), blood pressure and lipid control, and decrease episodes of hypoglycemia Despite these findings, some PCPs may be slow or disinclined to refer to clinical pharmacists when available This study addressed PCP perceptions regarding referral to clinical pharmacists and endocrinologists for patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes Methods: Physicians from five family medicine sites were surveyed Physicians were queried regarding their patterns for patient referral to endocrinologists and/or clinical pharmacists Clinical contributions and importance of factors to consider when referring were compared between clinical pharmacists and endocrinologists using paired t tests Results: Fifty physicians responded to the survey, resulting in a response rate of 735% The majority of PCPs indicated that they have referred to endocrinologists (895%) and clinical pharmacists (935%) for specialty care PCPs tended to refer to clinical pharmacists sooner and at lower A1C values than to endocrinologists PCPs also considered multiple medical comorbidities, history of noncompliance with medical recommendations, low reading ability or math skills, complex psychosocial situations, fear of needles, or difficulty affording medications or supplies to be more important when referring patients to clinical pharmacists than endocrinologists Conclusion: We hypothesized that referrals to a clinical pharmacist or endocrinologist are made with careful consideration of the patients' needs PCPs reported increased utilization of clinical pharmacists for patients with nonmedical needs, indicating that extra time, education, and psychosocial support provided by the clinical pharmacist is highly valued

PubMed ID

Not assigned.

Volume

3

Issue

1

First Page

15

Last Page

20

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