Impact of Physician-Pharmacist Collaboration on Diabetes Outcomes and Health Care Use

Objective: To evaluate the impact of physician-pharmacist collaboration for disease-state management on diabetes outcomes in primary care by comparing outcomes between physician-managed care and pharmacist collaborative care.

Methods: A retrospective, observational cohort study was conducted at Ascension Medical Group Via Christi, P.A. from January 1, 2016 to June 30, 2018. Health outcomes were analyzed in 385 patients with diabetes mellitus collaboratively managed by a physician and pharmacist (collaborative care group). Similar patients managed by physician only (usual care group) were matched to the collaborative care group using nearest neighbor matching. The primary outcome compared glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) change between collaborative care and usual care groups at 12 months.

Results: The mean change in HbA1c decreased by 1.75% in the collaborative care group and 0.16% in the usual care group ( < .0001). The usual care group had a larger number of patients with HbA1c less than 8% at follow-up ( = .0049). Additional outcomes included decrease in total cholesterol ( = .0023), triglycerides ( = .0016), and an increase in PPSV23 pneumococcal vaccinations ( = .0255) in the collaborative care group. The usual care group had an increase in PCV13 pneumococcal vaccinations ( = .0075). Both emergency department visits ( = .0162) and hospitalizations ( = .0225) decreased significantly in the collaborative care group, estimating total savings of $633,015.

Conclusions: The collaboration of pharmacists and physicians in the primary care setting is associated with improved diabetes outcomes and substantially reduces costs related to decreased health care use.