Pharmaceutical consultation as a tool to improve health outcomes for patients with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

This study develops and evaluates a pharmaceutical consultation program (PCP) to improve treatment for Type 2 diabetes patients (T2DP) and reduce risk factors for diabetic complications with possible application in other chronic diseases. We recruited T2DP receiving conventional medical treatment but with fasting glycemia >140mg/dl and/or glycated hemoglobin >7%. The PCP includes strategies obtained from Dader's method, the PWDT (Pharmacist's Workup of Drug Therapy method) model of pharmaceutical care, the SOAP (Subjective data, Objective data, Assessment, and Plan of care) method, and concepts based on a nursing care model. The PCP evaluated lifestyle, pharmacotherapy and monitoring it using laboratory tests, vital signs, and anthropometry. These procedures were repeated every 4 months for 1 year. Data obtained in each consultation were used to provide patient education focusing on healthy lifestyles and medications. Fifty patients completed the PCP. There were reductions in glycemia (P<0.0001), glycated hemoglobin (P=0.0022), cholesterolemia (P=0.0072), triacylglycerolemia (P=0.0204) and blood pressure (P<0.0001). Increased concordance with drug treatment and correction of drug-related problems contributed to improved treatment. We can therefore conclude that our PCP was suitable for improving health outcomes in T2DP by reducing risk factors for diabetic complications.