Impact of a Community Pharmacist-Delivered Information Program on the Follow-up of Type-2 Diabetic Patients: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Study

{IntroductionLow-quality communication between patients and care providers and limited patient knowledge of the disease and the therapy are important factors associated with poor glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. We conducted a multicenter study to determine whether structured and tailored information delivered by pharmacists to type 2 diabetic patients could improve patient treatment adherence, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels and knowledge about diabetes.MethodsOne hundred seventy-four pharmacies were randomized to deliver an educational program on diet, drug treatment, disease and complications during three 30-min interviews over a 6-month period, or to provide no intervention, to type 2 diabetic patients treated with oral antidiabetic agents. Medication adherence was assessed by measuring the medication possession ratio and diabetes control by collecting HbA1c values. Levels of patient treatment self-management and disease knowledge were assessed using self-questionnaires.ResultsThree hundred seventy-seven patients were analyzed. The medication possession ratio, already very high at baseline in the intervention (94.8%) and control (92.3%) groups, did not vary significantly after 6months with no difference between the two groups. Significant decreases in HbA1c were observed in both groups at 6months (p<0.001) and 12months (p<0.01), with significantly greater changes from baseline in the intervention group than in the control group at 6months (- 0.5% vs. - 0.2%