Clinical Pharmacy Specialists Linked With Increased Use of Diabetes Drugs With Cardiovascular Benefit

A higher proportion of patients with diabetes and cardiovascular risk received prescriptions for diabetes drugs with cardiovascular benefit when a clinical pharmacy specialist was involved in their care, according to study results published online ahead of print in the Journal of Pharmacy Practice.

“Involvement of clinical pharmacy specialists in the care of patients with diabetes mellitus has been demonstrated to be beneficial,” explained a research team from VA North Florida South Georgia Veterans Health System, Gainesville, Florida, in the study background. “Whether this positive impact applies to increased use of cardiovascular risk-reducing medications is less well established.”

The retrospective cohort study included 8058 patients with type 2 diabetes, treated with at least one medication, and cardiovascular risk in Veterans Affairs primary care settings between February 2019 and January 2020. Researchers categorized patients into 2 groups, based on whether a clinical pharmacy specialist was involved in their care, and looked at the rate of new prescriptions for empagliflozin or liraglutide.

Some 2099 patients received clinical co-management by a clinical pharmacy specialist, according to the study.

Among the 596 patients who initiated empagliflozin or liraglutide during the study period, 18.6% had clinical pharmacy specialist involvement and 3.4% did not.

“This study showed clinical pharmacy specialist involvement is associated with increased prescribing of diabetes medications with proven cardiovascular benefits,” researchers advised.

Reference:
Ballister B, Hernandez RL, Quffa LH, et all. Clinical pharmacy specialist collaborative management and prescription of diabetes medications with cardiovascular benefit. J Pharm Pract. Published online December 5, 2022. doi:10.1177/08971900221144399