Pharmacist Intervention for Glycemic Control in The Community

Background: Approximately 1.9 million Canadians are living with diabetes and this is estimated to increase by 75% over the next few decades. Pharmacists are front line primary healthcare professionals who see patients with diabetes frequently and in Alberta, they have been allowed to prescribe medications and order laboratory tests. As such, pharmacists could systematically identify poorly controlled diabetes patients and provide greater access to diabetes interventions to improve blood sugar control. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the effect of a community pharmacist intervention on blood sugar control in individuals with poorly controlled diabetes. Project description: 100 adults with type 2 diabetes and uncontrolled blood sugar will be defined by the participating pharmacists. Blood sugar control is going to assessed using hemoglobin A1c test (a blood test to measure individual's blood sugar control over the last 3 months). This test requires obtaining a blood spot from the patient which will be obtained by pricking his/her fingertip. Based on the hemoglobin A1c test result the pharmacist will assess the patient's need for insulin glargine, if the patient needs insulin glargine the pharmacist is going to prescribe it for him/her and educate him/her on its use. Patients are going to be followed up closely by the pharmacists for 6 months with regular updates to the patients' family physicians. This multi-centre study should demonstrate pharmacists' ability to improve glycemic control and improve access to care.