Empowering Pharmacists in Type 2 Diabetes Care: Opportunities for Prevention, Counseling, and Therapeutic Optimization.

Journal: Journal of clinical medicine
Published Date:

Abstract

Diabetes is a growing chronic disease with complications that impose a significant burden on healthcare systems worldwide. Pharmacists are readily accessible for diabetes management beyond simply dispensing medications. Consequently, they are involved in disease prevention and detection, therapy management, and patient monitoring. However, with the current escalating impact of diabetes, pharmacists must upgrade their strategies by integrating guidelines from sources like the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 2024 with pharmacy expertise. This perspective serves as a guide for pharmacists, identifying key foundations involved in diabetes management, highlighting five crucial steps for optimal disease control, ranging from prevention strategies to pharmacist-led counseling interventions. We employed PubMed, CDC, WHO guidelines, and key reference texts. Searches were performed using combinations of terms such as "pharmacist", "type 2 diabetes", "diabetes prevention", "pharmacist intervention", and "diabetes management", covering publications from January 2010 to March 2025. Studies were included if they focused on pharmacist-led prevention, intervention, or management strategies related to type 2 diabetes (T2D) and were published in English. Studies focusing exclusively on type 1 diabetes were excluded. Generative artificial intelligence was employed to order and structure information as described in the acknowledgments. Conflicting evidence was resolved by giving relevance to recent systematic reviews, randomized trials, and major guidelines. Additional insights were gained through consultations with PharmD professionals experienced in diabetes care. Evidence from selected studies suggests that pharmacist-led care models may enhance and promote the early detection of T2D, improve therapy adherence, enhance glycemic control, and increase overall treatment efficiency. This work suggests that pharmacists must play a key role in diagnosing, preventing, managing, and mitigating the consequences associated with T2D. They must contribute to early treatments with appropriate training and involvement to improve therapeutic outcomes and reduce diabetes-related complications.

Authors

  • Sarah Uddin
    Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA.
  • Mathias Sanchez Machado
    Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA.
  • Bayan Alshahrouri
    Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA.
  • Jose I Echeverri
    Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA.
  • Mario C Rico
    Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA.
  • Ajay D Rao
    Center for Metabolic Disease Research, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA.
  • Charles Ruchalski
    Department of Pharmaceutical Practice, School of Pharmacy, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA.
  • Carlos A Barrero
    Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA.

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