Impact of Clinical Pharmacist-led Intervention on Clinical Outcomes, Medication Adherence, and Health-related Quality of Life of Type 2 Diabetic Comorbid Hypertensive Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the impact of a pharmacist-led educational intervention on clinical outcomes, medication adherence, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of Type 2 diabetes comorbid hypertensive patients. Ninety-two participants were block-randomized into control (n = 46, usual care) and intervention (n = 46, pharmacist-led education and counseling) groups. Clinical parameters, medication adherence, and HRQoL were assessed at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Repeated measures tests and bivariate statistics were used to analyze within-group and between-group differences of outcomes. Seventy-two patients (37 intervention, 35 control) completed the study. The intervention group demonstrated significant reductions in mean glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level, systolic and diastolic blood pressure over 6 months (p < 0.05), while no significant differences in outcomes were observed among the control group. Altogether, 67.6% of participants in the intervention group attained HbA1c < 7%, and 83.8% achieved optimal blood pressure control and adherence to the prescribed medications. HRQoL health utility score shows marginal but significant improvement in the intervention group. Overall, the pharmacist intervention exhibited small to moderate effects in improving most of these outcomes compared to usual care. The findings revealed that pharmacist-led educational interventions significantly improve clinical outcomes, medication adherence, and HRQoL in diabetic-hypertensive patients. The study recommends routine integration of pharmacists in clinical settings for multidisciplinary care of diabetic-hypertensive patients.