NASHVILLE, Tenn. The Community Research Partners (CRP) gathered Friday, July 10, at the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance (MVA) office for a works-in-progress meeting featuring a Community Engaged Research Core (CERC) mini grant-funded project – Pharmacist-Directed Intervention to Improve Diabetes Outcomes in High-Risk Patients.
The project – which was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal The Diabetes Educator and featured in Endocrine Today and Drug Store News – examines the association between pharmacist intervention and diabetes-related health outcomes in a community clinic population with poorly controlled diabetes. It indicated that underserved patients with sub-optimally controlled type 2 diabetes cared for by pharmacists were more adherent to their medication regimen and had better blood sugar control than those who did not have a pharmacist in their care team.
MVA team members and pharmacy support staff reviewed medical records of 100 patients, half of which were exposed to enhanced pharmacy care. Enhanced pharmacy care included educating patients with new diagnoses of type 2 diabetes on the risks of the disease and the benefit of treatment, as well as the necessity of medical adherence. The other half of patients received standard care from their primary care providers.
St. Thomas Medical Partners Family Health Center Pharmacist Supervisor Rebecca Hopper, BAPharm, PharmD, BCACP, CDE, BCADM spearheaded the study. She partnered with MVA Executive Director Dr. Consuelo H. Wilkins, MD, MSCI, along with supporting MVA collaborators, to complete it. Both Hopper and Wilkins were on hand at the meeting to field questions and provide additional details into the study and its implications.
MVA Senior Research Associate Jeannine Skinner, who analyzed the study’s data, led the meeting.
About the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance
Founded in 1999, the Alliance bridges the institutions of Meharry Medical College and Vanderbilt University. Its mission is to enrich learning and advance clinical research by developing and supporting mutually beneficial partnerships between Meharry Medical College, Vanderbilt University and the communities they serve.
About Saint Thomas Health
Saint Thomas Health is the leading faith-based health care system in Tennessee and is a part of Ascension Health, the largest not-for-profit health care system in the United States. We are committed to healing and dedicated to service, especially to persons who are poor or needy, reflecting the spiritual core of our mission, vision and values.
