Ask the Pharmacist to Join Your Diabetes Care Team

Pharmacists are a key source of education, medication, monitoring, and motivational support for people with diabetes. Their training places them in a unique and valuable role in diabetes care, with expertise in the pharmacological management of diabetes. Additionally, pharmacists routinely provide patient education and are trained in the motivational interviewing techniques important for promoting effective self-management.

An article by Julie Stading, PharmD, CDE, et al. in this issue of Diabetes Spectrum (p. 241) highlights improved A1C benefits that resulted when clinical pharmacists were added to the diabetes care team and when they worked directly with patients who were newly diagnosed with diabetes or new to insulin therapy at the Veterans Administration. Although their study was a retrospective comparison, it suggests a beneficial effect of the expanded team (i.e., one that includes a pharmacist) compared to a control group of patients who did not see a pharmacist. These findings are consistent with other studies that have explored the effect of pharmacist collaboration with patients and providers to improve the management of diabetes. It further underscores the importance of the expertise of the pharmacist as part of the diabetes care team.

In addition to providing diabetes self-management education in the clinic setting, randomized controlled trials …