Effect of Pharmacist-Driven Professional Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Adults with Uncontrolled Diabetes

Assessing Pharmacist Interventions at an Outpatient Renal Transplant Clinic Under a Collaborative Pharmacy Practice Agreement

Background: Collaborative pharmacist practice agreements (CPPAs) advance the role of pharmacists by granting prescriptive authority without direct oversight from participating physicians. Objective: To assess the quantity of prescriptions authorized by pharmacists and frequency and types of interventions performed under a CPPA in an outpatient renal transplant clinic. Practice description: Clinical pharmacists in the outpatient renal transplant clinic began prescribing medications under a CPPA in March 2017. Practice innovation: Under the CPPA, pharmacists perform interventions to improve medication management. After identifying gaps in medication therapy, pharmacists tracked their interventions to improve patient care. Methods: An ambispective cohort study evaluated the number of prescriptions and interventions performed under a CPPA. Patients with a prescription generated by pharmacists between January 2019 through June 2019 were included. Pharmacists prospectively collected the number and types of interventions performed; the number of pharmacist-generated prescriptions was retrospectively collected. Interventions were categorized into three groups: medical record assessments, medication counseling, and resolution of barriers to medication continuation. Results: Pharmacists under a CPPA placed 5793 prescriptions and performed 3852 interventions for 1233 patients. The most common intervention categories were medical record assessments, medication counseling, and resolution of barriers to medication continuation. Conclusion: Pharmacists within a CPPA performed medical record assessments to identify untreated or under treated health conditions, eliminate duplicate therapy, and monitor narrow therapeutic drugs. Expanding pharmacists' prescriptive authority within the renal transplant clinic is a successful strategy to ensure patients are taking medications correctly and to avoid barriers to medication persistence.

Development of a Continuous Glucose Monitoring Service by Clinical Pharmacists in a Medically Underserved Population

Background: Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is an evolving technology that provides a wealth of information to aid in managing diabetes. Professional CGM (ProCGM) is recommended when personal CGM is not desired or available. Patients in medically underserved areas may have limited access to personal CGM devices, thus ProCGM devices can be used for short-term monitoring and medication adjustment. Clinical pharmacists are well-positioned to help set up and establish personal and professional CGM management services. Objectives: To determine the effect of ProCGM in patients with persistently uncontrolled type 2 diabetes in a medically underserved population (MUP). Methods: Pre-post intervention analysis of a single cohort of patients in a public health center. Patients with persistently uncontrolled (A1c > 9%) and taking at least one daily dose of insulin were included. Included participants wore a ProCGM sensor and met with the clinical pharmacist at least once for ProCGM data interpretation and education. The primary analysis evaluated patients who achieved an A1c <9% 1-6 months after intervention. The change in A1c was also evaluated. Participants completed a pre- and post-survey about their experience. Results: Twenty-two patients were included in the final analysis. Ten patients achieved an A1c <9% (45%). The mean A1c pre- and post-ProCGM was 11.0% and 9.8% respectively, with a decrease of -1.2% (p=0.055) overall and a decrease of -1.7% for patients who wore the sensor for at least 10 days (p=0.012; n=15). Using the CGM data 91% of participants had a change to their medication regimen and 45% achieved an A1c <9%. Six participants experienced hypoglycemia per the CGM report, but only two were aware of it. After reviewing their glucose report with the pharmacist, 95% of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed to feeling more knowledgeable about blood sugar patterns after reviewing the report with a pharmacist. Conclusion: Almost half of the patients in the study achieved an A1c <9%. This study demonstrated glycemic benefit in patients in a MUP who wore a ProCGM for at least 10 days and met with a clinical pharmacist. Data from ProCGM enabled patients to better understand glucose patterns in those with persistently uncontrolled type 2 diabetes.

Expanding the Role of Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Modern Diabetes Care Beyond Type 1 Disease

Application of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has moved diabetes care from a reactive to a proactive process, in which a person with diabetes can prevent episodes of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia, rather than taking action only once low and high glucose are detected. Consequently, CGM devices are now seen as the standard of care for people with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Evidence now supports the use of CGM in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on any treatment regimen, not just for those on insulin therapy. Expanding the application of CGM to include all people with T1DM or T2DM can support effective intensification of therapies to reduce glucose exposure and lower the risk of complications and hospital admissions, which are associated with high healthcare costs. All of this can be achieved while minimizing the risk of hypoglycemia and improving quality of life for people with diabetes. Wider application of CGM can also bring considerable benefits for women with diabetes during pregnancy and their children, as well as providing support for acute care of hospital inpatients who experience the adverse effects of hyperglycemia following admission and surgical procedures, as a consequence of treatment-related insulin resistance or reduced insulin secretion. By tailoring the application of CGM for daily or intermittent use, depending on the patient profile and their needs, one can ensure the cost-effectiveness of CGM in each setting. In this article we discuss the evidence-based benefits of expanding the use of CGM technology to include all people with diabetes, along with a diverse population of people with non-diabetic glycemic dysregulation.

The Benefits of Utilizing Continuous Glucose Monitoring of Diabetes Mellitus in Primary Care: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and intermittently scanned CGM (is-CGM) have shown to effectively manage diabetes in the specialty setting, but their efficacy in the primary care setting remains unknown. Does CGM/is-CGM improve glycemic control, decrease rates of hypoglycemia, and improve staff/physician satisfaction in primary care? If so, what subgroups of patients with diabetes are most likely to benefit?

METHODS

A comprehensive search in seven databases was performed in June 2021 for primary studies examining any continuous glucose monitoring system in primary care. We excluded studies with fewer than 20 participants, specialty care only, or hospitalized participants. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation were used for the quality assessment. The weighted mean difference (WMD) of HbA1c between CGM/is-CGM and usual care with 95% confidence interval was calculated. A narrative synthesis was conducted for change of time in, above, or below range (TIR, TAR, and TBR) hypoglycemic events and staff/patient satisfaction.

RESULTS

From ten studies and 4006 participants reviewed, CGM was more effective at reducing HbA1c compared with usual care (WMD -0.43%). There is low certainty of evidence that CGM/is-CGM improves TIR, TAR, or TBR over usual care. The CGM can reduce hypoglycemic events and staff/patient satisfaction is high. Patients with intensive insulin therapy may benefit more from CGM/is-CGM.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with usual care, CGM/is-CGM can reduce HbA1c, but most studies had notable biases, were short duration, unmasked, and were sponsored by industry. Further research needs to confirm the long-term benefits of CGM/is-CGM in primary care.

Flash Continuous Glucose Monitoring: A Practical Guide and Call to Action for Pharmacists

Despite advances in diabetes technology, the proportion of patients with type 2 diabetes achieving recommended glycemic goals remains suboptimal. There is a growing interest in flash continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) among patients, pharmacists and providers. Pharmacists are well positioned to collaborate with patients and providers in ambulatory care or community-based settings to allow a greater number of patients with diabetes to harness the benefits of flash CGM. The purpose of this narrative review is to provide pharmacists with a background on flash CGM technology, review the data supporting pharmacist-driven flash CGM services, and address common questions that arise in pharmacy practice surrounding flash CGM.

The Authors Respond

DISCLOSURES

No outside funding supported this study. The authors have nothing to disclose.

Flash Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Primary Care Settings: The Need for Measurement of Novel Glycemic Metrics to Adopt Policy and Practice Change

DISCLOSURES

No outside funding supported the writing of this letter. The author has nothing to disclose.