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Study Sheds Light On Value Of Pharmacists' Medication Therapy Management Services For Diabetic Patients

TCM,Chinese medicine,Chinese herb,Diabetic
a diabetic patient

Patients with diabetes who received medication therapy management (MTM) services from pharmacists showed better health outcomes than patients who only were monitored for long-term blood sugar control alone.

Patients enrolled in a health maintenance organization participated in the nine-month study conducted to evaluate the effect of pharmacist-run diabetes management programs on diabetes-related health outcomes. The patients were divided into a group that received MTM services and a control group that were only monitored for long-term blood sugar control. At the study's end, the MTM group showed an average reduction of .41 points in plasma hemoglobin A1c concentration, compared to an increase of .07 for the patients who didn't undergo MTM. In addition, about 42 percent of the group with MTM was at goal A1c levels, compared to 11 percent for the other group.

The investigators also determined that during implementation of pharmacist-delivered MTM, 53 percent of the patients in that group needed additional drug therapy and 30 percent were being treated with medication doses that were too low.

Results from the study highlight the important role pharmacists play in helping patients use medications safely and effectively and particularly patients who are being treated for chronic conditions like diabetes. According to the researchers, health systems generally spend up to four times more money caring for patients with diabetes than other patients in the general population.

The study's findings help support the increasing role of proactive pharmacists, says the study's principal investigator, Lourdes G. Planas, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy in OklahomaCity.  

                                                                                        
"Pharmacists are proactively teaching patients to control their diabetes when they provide MTM," Planas said. "Pharmacists are teaching them about healthy eating habits and self-monitoring of blood-sugar levels so they can be empowered to take care of their diabetes."

The study was conducted at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City and supported by a grant from the ASHP Foundation.

This study and others will be presented during the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists' 42nd Annual Midyear Clinical Meeting underway this week in Las Vegas. The session, "Cutting-Edge Research Highlights: Translating Research into Practice" was coordinated by the study's sponsor, the ASHP Research and Education Foundation.

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