Enhancing diabetes care with community pharmacist-involved collaborative care model: A multi-centre randomised controlled trial

Aim: To evaluate the clinical and humanistic outcomes of a community pharmacist-involved collaborative care model in diabetes management. Methods: This was a parallel arm, open-label, multi-centre randomized controlled trial conducted over 6 months. Subjects with type 2 diabetes, HbA1c >= 7.0% (53 mmol/mol) and taking >= 5 medications were included. Participants were randomized into intervention (collaborative care) and control groups (physician-centric care). The intervention included medication therapy management and telephonic follow-up with visits to family physicians, nurses, and dietitians. Clinical outcomes included changes in HbA1c, systolic blood pressure (SBP), lipids, and hypoglycaemic incidences. Humanistic outcomes included self-care capabilities and quality of life. Linear mixed models were constructed. Intention-to-treat analyses, with sensitivity analyses, were conducted. Results: A total of 264 participants were randomized (intervention: 131, control: 133). Significantly greater reduction in HbA1c was observed in the intervention group (intervention: -0.32% (-3.52 mmol/mol) vs. control: -0.06% (-0.66 mmol/mol), p = 0.038). Changes in SBP, lipids, and incidences of hypoglycaemia were not significant over 6 months between both groups. Significantly greater improvements in self-management (p < 0.001) and quality of life (p = 0.003) were observed within the intervention group. Conclusion: Partnering community pharmacists in a collaborative care team improved glycaemic control, quality of life and self-care capabilities of patients with diabetes and polypharmacy.