OBJECTIVES: The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the coordination between community pharmacists and a managed care organization (MCO) in the implementation of targeted diabetes management services in a community pharmacy setting. We evaluated implementation outcomes including intervention feasibility, fidelity, and acceptability.

METHODS: This study included 24 independent community pharmacies and was conducted from April 2017 to November 2017. Qualified patients were referred by the MCO for a diabetes intervention for one of the following criteria: 1) HbA1c >8%; 2) non-adherence to oral diabetes or statin medications (PDC<80%); or 3) omission of statin from medication regimen. Community pharmacists completed this multi-component diabetes intervention. Feasibility of the intervention was measured as the percent eligible patients and the number of patients recruited into the intervention. Intervention fidelity was defined as the number and frequency of interventions. Acceptability of the patient care intervention from the pharmacist’s perspective was assessed using a 5-point Likert-scale survey distributed to all pharmacies post-implementation.

RESULTS: A total of 490 patients were identified by the MCO as eligible for the intervention and 187 (43.7%) patients were recruited into the pharmacist intervention. There were 222 interventions completed with an average intervention rate of 9.3 interventions per pharmacy. 21 pharmacies (88%) responded to the survey and results show that pharmacists are motivated to expand the role of clinical interventions (4.67/5) and that intervention improved their patient’s quality of care (4.53/5). Pharmacists also felt qualified to make medication adherence (4.71/5) and diabetes interventions (4.64/5).

CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence for the feasibility and coordination between community pharmacies and a MCO for a multi-component diabetes management services. Participating pharmacists collectively agree that the services are beneficial to patients and feel confident in providing these services. The results from this study suggest potential expansion of clinical services offered by pharmacists at community pharmacies.