Impact of a Collaborative Pharmaceutical Care Service Among Patients With Diabetes in an Ambulatory Care Setting in Qatar: A Multiple Time Series Study

Abstract

Background Diabetes mellitus is highly prevalent in the Middle East and the burden associated with it is dramatically increasing. Pharmacists working in collaborative healthcare teams have an important role to improve outcomes in the primary care of diabetes.

Objectives To evaluate the impact of a collaborative pharmaceutical care service (CPCS) on improving outcomes among patients with diabetes in a primary care setting.

Methods This was a retrospective, multiple time series study involving patients attending an ambulatory diabetes clinic at Qatar Petroleum Healthcare Center in Dukhan, Qatar. Patients’ glycated hemoglobin A1c, fasting plasma glucose, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and lipid profile were obtained at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months of receiving CPCS through a retrospective chart review. A repeated-measures analysis of variance test was used to determine the impact of the intervention on clinical outcomes.

Results Ninety-six patients with diabetes were included in the analyses. There was a statistically significant reduction (ie, improvement) in glycated hemoglobin A1c by 1.4%, fasting plasma glucose by 41.3 mg/dL, body mass index by 1 kg/m2, systolic blood pressure by 14.9 mm Hg, and diastolic blood pressure by 8.7 mm Hg from baseline to 12 months (P<.001 for all). Nevertheless, no significant reductions were observed in the lipid profile.

Conclusions CPCS provision improves clinical outcomes in patients with diabetes over a 12-month follow-up period in a primary healthcare setting. Future studies should determine the long-term impact of a collaborative care model in this setting.