Background: In Singapore, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus was approximately 12.8% in 2014 and the prevalence was projected to rise to 22.7% in 2035. In view of the complexity of diabetes management, collaborative efforts by nurses and other allied health professionals such as dietitians and pharmacists have shown to play a significant role in improving clinical care of individuals with diabetes. Currently in Singapore, the effectiveness of the collaborative care model has only been evaluated prospectively in the primary and tertiary care settings involving clinical pharmacists. The impact of the unique, synergistic roles of community pharmacists with family physician on the clinical, humanistic and economic outcomes have yet to be elucidated. Aims: This study aims to evaluate the clinical, humanistic, and economic outcomes of a community pharmacist-involved collaborative care model in the management of individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Hypothesis: Incorporating community pharmacist into the care model with family physician and nurse can improve the clinical, humanistic, and economic outcomes of individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: This study is a prospective, open label, parallel arm, randomized controlled trial. The study will be conducted over 6 months at a family medicine clinic in Singapore. Individuals aged 21 years and above, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (HbA1c \> 7.0%) and taking 5 or more chronic medications will be eligible. Individuals with Type 1 diabetes or who are unable to communicate independently in English, Mandarin or Malay will be excluded from this study. The participants will be randomly assigned to 2 groups using a random number generator or an equivalent: (1) Usual diabetes care with physician (control), (2) diabetes care with physician and community pharmacist (intervention). The community pharmacist will adopt the core elements of the medication therapy management model in reviewing the medications of participants as well as provide relevant lifestyle counselling and health education via a face-to-face consultation at the clinic and subsequently through telephonic correspondences. The primary outcome will be change in HbA1c over 6 months. Secondary outcomes include blood pressure, lipid markers, distress level, self-care capabilities, quality of life, productivity, and direct medical costs. Significance: The outcomes of the community pharmacist-involved collaborative care model will support future implementation and integration of this care model into the standard of care in Singapore so as to optimize the management of type 2 diabetes.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
265
Community pharmacist-involved collaborative care in the management of individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Usual care with physician and as needed visit to the nurse
Keat Hong Family Medicine Clinic
Singapore, Singapore
Change in HbA1c level
Change in HbA1c level over 6 months
Time frame: Baseline and 6 months
Change in blood pressure
Change in systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure
Time frame: Baseline and 6 months
Change in lipid markers
Change in total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride levels
Time frame: Baseline and 6 months
Change in diabetes-related distress
Measured by 20-item Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID), with each item scoring from 0 to 4. The total score is computed by the sum of score of each item, ranging from 0 to 100 (highest distress level).
Time frame: Baseline and 6 months
Change in general health status
Measured by EuroQoL 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L), each item scored individually on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being least problem and 5 being most problem). EQ-5D-5L comes with a visual analogue scale assessing general health-related quality of life on that day, ranging from 0 (worst health imaginable) to 100 (best health imaginable).
Time frame: Baseline and 6 months
Change in diabetes-specific quality of life
Measured by the 21-item Audit of Diabetes-Dependent Quality of Life (ADDQoL), with 2 global general quality of life questions and 19 domains with weighted score between impact and importance. The average weighted impact is the average of the impact of all domains (ranging from -9, being worst quality of life to +3, being best quality of life).
Time frame: Baseline and 6 months
Change in general work productivity
Measured by 6-item Work Productivity Activity Impairment-Global Health (WPAI-GH), four primary outcomes based on the questions including: Per cent of work time missed due to health conditions (absenteeism): Q2/(Q2+Q4). Per cent impairment while working due to health conditions (presenteeism): Q5/10. Per cent overall work impairment due to health: Q2/(Q2+Q4)+\[(1-Q2/(Q2+Q4))×(Q5/10)\]. Per cent impairment in activities due to health: Q6/10.
Time frame: Baseline and 6 months
Change in self efficacy and self-care capabilities
Measured by Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities scale (SDSCA),comprised of items assessing five domains of diabetes self-management which are "general diet (2 items), specific diet (2 items), exercise (2 items), blood glucose testing (2 items) and foot care (2 items) and the medication self-management component and smoking self-management component. Each item will be reported as a mean across the sample and analysed individually.
Time frame: Baseline and 6 months
Incidence of hypoglycemia
Incidence of hypoglycemia over 6 months
Time frame: Baseline and 6 months
Cost effectiveness analysis
Cost effectiveness of the community pharmacist-involved collaborative care model
Time frame: 6 months
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