title: Frequency and Impact of Pharmacist Interventions in Clinical Trial Patients With Diabetes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to describe the interventions and impact made by pharmacists during clinical trials.
  
  
  METHODS
  A specialty contract research organization that used clinical trial research pharmacists to communicate with patients to support clinical trial protocol adherence, retention, and health outcomes performed a retrospective, descriptive analysis of 12 clinical trials that involved 2 noninsulin glucose-lowering medications. Pharmacists called study participants at specific timepoints during the trials as per protocol. During each telephone call, the number and types of interventions were documented. Descriptive statistics (frequencies) were performed to determine the number and type of interventions by call and by patient across all noninsulin glucose-lowering medication drug A and drug B studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 25,829 calls were made across all studies. Of these calls, 11,765 calls (45.5%) had at least one intervention that involved 3573 patients (92.3%). The most frequent interventions addressed adverse events (3774 [14.6%]), protocol violations for medication use (3341 [12.9%]), concurrent medications (1630 [5.9%]), and miscellaneous concerns (1269 [4.6%]). The greatest numbers of interventions were high-impact interventions (4772 [18.5%]) (eg, serious adverse events) that would seriously affect trial outcomes and patient adherence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pharmacists were able to identify, support, and address multiple types of interventions related to medication management during clinical trials, including those related to concurrent medication use, adverse events, and other medication-related issues. These pharmacist interventions can result in better patient outcomes and, ultimately, more reliable study results for review and approval by regulatory agencies.
authors.affiliation: Center Point Clinical Services, Malvern, Pennsylvania. Electronic address: Joe@centerpointrph.com.
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Practice, Cedarville University School of Pharmacy, Cedarville, Ohio.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Laswell
authors.affiliation: Cedarville University School of Pharmacy, Cedarville, Ohio.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cailor
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Practice, Cedarville University School of Pharmacy, Cedarville, Ohio.
authors.forename: Jeb
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ballentine
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence; D008875:Middle Aged; D010595:Pharmacists; D024382:Professional Role
chemical_list: D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents
keywords: clinical trials; diabetes; medication adherence; pharmacist