Summary: In 400 patients with diabetes randomised to pharmacist-led collaborative care (DMTAC clinics plus routine treatment) versus usual hospital care, the intervention arm reported significantly greater improvement on the EQ-5D visual analogue scale (54.45 to 72.23 vs 55.89 to 64.86 in controls; F[1,292]=118.67, p<0.001) and across all EQ-5D-5L domains (p<0.05). HbA1c fell by 2.84% in the intervention arm versus 1.44% in controls (p<0.05). The trial was open-label, and no between-group resource-use or cost analysis was reported.
PICO Summary
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Population | 400 adults with diabetes (type 2 indexed; MeSH includes Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2) recruited from hospitals; single-country RCT, Saudi Arabia; 1-year follow-up with two visits. |
| Intervention | Pharmacist-led collaborative care via Diabetes Medication Therapy Adherence Clinic (DMTAC) plus routine diabetes management and treatment (n=200). |
| Comparison | Usual care: regular hospital treatment without the added pharmacist-led educational sessions (n=200). |
| Outcome | EQ-5D VAS, intervention arm 54.45±8.81 to 72.23±6.41 vs control arm 55.89±7.52 to 64.86±5.04; ANOVA F(1,292)=118.67, p<0.001. All EQ-5D-5L domains significantly associated with HRQoL (p<0.05). HbA1c reduction 2.84% (intervention) vs 1.44% (control), p<0.05. No 95% CI, ARR, or NNT reported; both arms improved on the VAS. |
Pharmacist-led care and quality of life in diabetes
Open-label RCT · type 2 diabetes · 1 year
Pharmacist-led collaborative care improved EQ-5D VAS quality of life more than usual care over one year, with a larger HbA1c fall. Open-label design and absent confidence intervals temper certainty.
Expert Commentary
This randomised trial supports a familiar verdict: structured pharmacist-led collaborative care, delivered alongside routine treatment, is associated with measurable gains in self-reported quality of life and glycaemic control over one year. Both arms improved on the EQ-5D visual analogue scale, but the intervention arm gained substantially more, and the between-arm ANOVA was strongly significant. The principal limitation is that the trial was open-label, which is unavoidable for an educational intervention but leaves the patient-reported EQ-5D outcomes vulnerable to expectation and reporting bias, since participants knew they were receiving extra attention. The reported HbA1c fall of 2.84% in the intervention arm is large for a one-year programme and should be read cautiously until corroborated, and the report provides no confidence intervals, effect sizes, or resource-use comparison, so the magnitude and cost of benefit remain uncertain. Can I use this with my patients? Yes, in a limited sense: it reinforces referring motivated patients with diabetes to a pharmacist-led adherence clinic as an adjunct to usual care, not as a substitute for it, and not on the promise of the headline HbA1c figure. Funding was academic with no manufacturer involvement declared. Larger, blinded-assessor trials reporting confidence intervals and economic outcomes would let us quantify how much of this benefit is real and durable.
References
Iqbal MZ, Alqahtani SS. Effect of pharmacist led intervention on health related quality of life in diabetic patients assessed using EQ5D domains and visual analogue scale. Sci Rep. 2025;15(1):21222. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-04439-w