Patient-centered medical home pharmacists’ impact on composite quality care measures for patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes

Background: Patients with uncontrolled diabetes are at risk for developing complications. Many health care systems have implemented multidisciplinary care models including pharmacists to help achieve quality care measures to reduce complications. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate whether patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) seen at patient-centered medical home (PCMH) clinics affiliated with an academic medical center are more likely to meet a composite of diabetes quality care measures with a pharmacist on their care team than usual care patients without a pharmacist on their care team. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. The setting included PCMH primary care clinics affiliated with an academic medical center from January 2017 to December 2020. Included were adults aged 18 to 75 years with a diagnosis of T2D, hemoglobin A1C (A1C) more than 9%, and established with a PCMH provider. The intervention is inclusion of PCMH pharmacist on the patient's care team for management of T2D per a collaborative practice agreement. The main outcome measures included A1C ≤9% per last recorded value during observation period, a composite A1C ≤9% and completion of yearly laboratory tests, and a composite A1C ≤9%, completion of yearly laboratory tests, and statin prescription for adults aged 40-75 years. Results: Identified were 1807 patients in the usual care cohort with mean baseline A1C of 10.7% and 207 patients in the pharmacist cohort with mean baseline A1C of 11.1%. The pharmacist cohort was more likely to have an A1C of ≤9% at the end of the observation period (70.1% vs. 45.4%; P < 0.001), a composite of measures met (28.5% vs. 16.8%; P < 0.001), and a composite of measures met for patients aged 40-75 years (27.2% vs. 13.7%; P < 0.001). Conclusion: Pharmacist involvement in the multidisciplinary management of uncontrolled T2D is associated with a higher attainment of a composite of quality care measures at the population health level.