Using an Advanced Practice Pharmacist in a Team-Based Care Model to Decrease Time to Hemoglobin A1c Goal Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes, Florida, 2017–2019

Collaborative practice models that use an advanced practice pharmacist (APP) have been shown to improve outcomes for patients with chronic diseases. Few studies have evaluated the effects of team-based practice models involving an APP for time needed to attain glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) goals in patients with diabetes mellitus (type 2 diabetes). Ours is a retrospective cohort study, involving patients with type 2 diabetes who worked with a pharmacist in an academic family medicine clinic. These patients experienced a shorter time to achieve an HbA1c of less than 7%, as compared with patients who did not work with a pharmacist. Future studies should evaluate the length of time patients can sustain an HbA1c of less than 7% with team-based care involving an APP and the influence of such care on diabetes-related complications.