title: Impact of clinical pharmacist intervention on diabetes related quality-of-life in an ambulatory care clinic.
abstract: The purpose of this one-year observational study was to evaluate quality of life in patients at the Medical University of South Carolina Family Medicine clinic who were followed by a clinical pharmacist diabetes educator.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients who have been seen by the clinical pharmacist for diabetes education and management services were contacted by telephone and asked to complete a previously validated Diabetes-related Quality of Life (DRQL) survey. In addition, the patient's most recent hemoglobin A1C, blood pressure, fasting lipid panel and aspirin use were obtained from the electronic medical record. Correlation and logistic regression analysis was completed in order to assess the quality of life score and clinical outcomes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 47 patients completed the survey (37%). The median overall score was 1 (1-very satisfied; 5-very dissatisfied). Patients who were more satisfied with their current treatment tended to have lower LDL, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) values (r=0.32, 0.3, 0.33; p=0.03, 0.03, 0.02). In addition, patients taking more medications were more dissatisfied with the amount of time spent managing their disease (r=0.29, p=0.04), felt more pain associated with the treatment of their disease (r=0.32, p=0.02), and were more worried that their body looked different as a result of their diabetes (r=0.32, p=0.02).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients in this clinic were highly satisfied with their quality of life. The authors found that trends exist for relationships between several important clinical parameters and quality of life.
authors.affiliation: Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University , Detroit, MI ( USA ).
authors.forename: Douglas L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Jennings
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy and Clinical Sciences/Family Medicine. South Carolina College of Pharmacy, Medical University of South Carolina , Charleston, SC ( USA ).
authors.forename: Kelly R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Ragucci
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy and Clinical Sciences. South Carolina College of Pharmacy, Medical University of South Carolina , Charleston, SC ( USA ).
authors.forename: Elinor Cg
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Chumney
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy and Clinical Sciences/Family Medicine. South Carolina College of Pharmacy, Medical University of South Carolina , Charleston, SC ( USA ).
authors.forename: Andrea M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Wessell
keywords: Diabetes; Outcome Assessment (Health Care); Quality of life; United States