title: Impact of medication therapy management on underserved, primarily Hispanic patients with diabetes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Diabetes-related complications are more pronounced in Hispanic patients versus patients of other ethnicities. It is documented that medication therapy management (MTM) can improve diabetes outcomes; however, data regarding Hispanic patients are limited.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the impact of MTM on hemoglobin A1c (A1C), blood pressure (BP), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in underserved, primarily Hispanic patients who use a safety-net clinic as their medical home.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective, observational study of uninsured, primarily Hispanic patients with diabetes who received MTM from October 2009 through March 2011. Patients were stratified into 2 cohorts: A1C less than 9% and A1C greater than or equal to 9%. Patients were also stratified by frequency of MTM visits and insulin use, regardless of A1C. A chart review was conducted to evaluate diabetes-related outcomes pre- and postimplementation of MTM. The primary study outcome was reduction of A1C. Secondary outcomes included reduction of BP and LDL-C and reduction of A1C based on MTM visit frequency or insulin use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-four patients with at least 1 MTM visit and pre- and postimplementation A1C data were included. In the cohort with A1C greater than or equal to 9%, mean (SD) A1C values decreased from 10.9% (1.4%) to 8.8% (1.5%) versus the cohort with A1C less than 9%, whose A1C changed minimally, from 7.2% (0.9%) to 7.4% (1.4%). Regardless of their A1C, patients who were using insulin at baseline had a change in A1C of -0.8% (1.5%) versus -0.1% (1.6%) in those who were not using insulin at baseline (p = 0.04); patients who participated in multiple MTM visits had a significant reduction in A1C, from 9% to 8.3% (95% CI -1.26 to -0.03; p = 0.02) compared with patients participating in only 1 MTM visit.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pharmacist-provided MTM can significantly improve diabetes control in uninsured, primarily Hispanic patients with poorly controlled diabetes and in those who are using insulin. Multiple MTM visits also yielded significant A1C reductions.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland, Shady Grove Campus, Rockville, MD, USA. hcongdon@rx.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Heather B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Congdon
authors.forename: Thomas C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Dowling
authors.forename: Iliana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Hoai-An
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Truong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000517:prevention & control; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007328:Insulin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D054539:Medication Therapy Management / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D007328:Insulin