Pharmacist-Diabetic Patient Relationship Factor Related to Behavioral Changes and Improved Outcomes

The number of people diagnosed with diabetes and the health care costs related to diabetes have increased in the United States. Medication therapy management (MTM) is used to improve the quality of care to improve clinical outcomes and reduce overall health care costs. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, the purpose of this study was to examine characteristics of the pharmacist-diabetic patient relationship that have the potential to lead to behavioral changes and improved clinical outcomes. Bandura's self-efficacy model served as the theoretical framework, and Wagner et al.'s chronic care model (CCM) served as the conceptual framework for this study. Data about the lived experiences of 12 diabetic patients were gathered from interviews, and were analyzed to identify influential characteristics of the pharmacist-diabetic patient relationship that were related to behavioral changes in the diabetic patient and improved glycated hemoglobin (A1C) levels. Clinical outcomes were measured by A1C levels documented over a 6-month period. According to study results, there were 20 influential factors and 30 influential characteristics from the diabetic patient's side of the dyad and 26 influential factors and 17 influential characteristics from the pharmacist's side of the pharmacist-diabetic patient dyad that influenced behavioral changes in diabetic patients and improved their clinical outcomes. The policy implication is to raise awareness amongst health care providers and health care payers of the impact of the pharmacist-diabetic patient relationship as a means of improving the management of diabetes to improve diabetic patient outcomes.