Impact of team‐based pharmaceutical care on the humanistic outcomes among patients with long‐standing diabetes: An interim analysis of a randomized, controlled, multicenter study

Introduction Epidemiological studies have reported that diabetes‐related complications increase after 5 years of uncontrolled/suboptimal metabolic control. The risk of experiencing diabetes‐related microvascular diseases usually spike after 10 years of uncontrolled diabetes. Objectives The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of team‐based pharmaceutical care on glycemic control, self‐care, diabetes‐dependent quality of life, and productivity loss in patients with long‐standing diabetes (≥5 years). Methods This was a prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled study. Patients with a glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) > 7%, long‐standing diabetes defined as having a disease duration of at least 5 years, and polypharmacy defined as taking 5 or more chronic medications were included in the study. Patients in the intervention arm received team‐based pharmaceutical care regularly while patients in the control arm received physician‐centered care. Patients' humanistic outcomes were followed for 6 months. Results A total of 248 patients (126 intervention and 122 control) were included in the study. In addition to improved glycemic control observed in the intervention arm (mean difference: 0.44%, P = .003, 95% confidence interval: [0.15, 0.73]), the intervention arm showed significant improvements in overall self‐care level (+0.36, 95% confidence interval: [0.01, 0.72], P = .045) and self‐monitoring of blood glucose (+1.87, 95% confidence interval: [1.00, 2.99], P