Evaluating Pharmacist-Driven Interventions in Multidisciplinary Diabetes Care
Nov 11, 2025, 08:39 AM
ADCES Research Committee Member Commentary on This October 2025 Study in The Science of Diabetes Self-Management Care and Education
By Liseli Mulala, RPh, MPH, PhD, CDCES, BCMTMS
Evaluating Pharmacist-Driven Interventions in Multidisciplinary Diabetes Care: A Quasi-Experimental Study Jiunn-Bey Pao et al 2025
As a pharmacist I am always interested in studies from other countries to see the similarities and differences. Patients at Taipei City Hospital in Taiwan were seen from April to December 2021, they were randomized to either standard of care or the intervention group. Standard of care was regular outpatient consultation with dietitians, nurses and physicians. The pharmacist role was purely that of responding to patient-initiated inquiries and medication dispensing. The intervention group saw pharmacists for 30-60 minutes once a month for 6 months. The pharmacists were certified Diabetes care and education specialists using culturally appropriate diabetes education materials, visual aids, teach back and literacy aligned simplified language. Pharmacists also covered medication use, self-monitoring of blood glucose, diet, exercise, adherence, drug interaction screening, prevention/management of acute complications, adverse reaction management and diabetes pathophysiology.
The pharmacist-led care resulted in improved health literacy, adherence, reduction in LDLc and weight. Reductions in A1c showed a downward trend but were not significant. This is a positive example and very applicable in the United States, of how inclusion of pharmacists in culturally appropriate diabetes education can lead to improved patient outcomes in a diversity of countries and communities.
Read this study in full, as well as the rest of the October issue of The Science of Diabetes Self-Management and Care