Family Nurse Practitioner/Pharmacist Collaborative Medication Counseling in Patients With Diabetes

• Family nurse practitioners working together with pharmacists are essential to improving critical indicators in chronic disease, such as A1C.
• Pharmaceutical counseling with pharmacists was provided in a clinic setting. FNPs worked with pharmacists to individualize medication regimens of diabetic patients.
• Pre- and postintervention A1C was measured.
• A paired samples t test was conducted on these data to test the null hypothesis that there was no change in A1C level. The mean change in A1C of −1.04 was found to be highly significant (P < .001).

Medication adherence is an ongoing challenge in patients with diabetes on multidrug regimens. With multiple prescription medications, adherence to the individualized drug regimen can become a problem, and diabetes management worsens. It is pivotal for patients and nurse practitioners to have the opportunity to work with a pharmacist in the outpatient setting to review individualized medication regimens. In this study, the medication regimens of diabetic patients were reviewed with a pharmacist, and suggested changes to the regimen were implemented by the nurse practitioner. Follow-up A1Cs were reviewed 6 months after implementation, and there was a statistically significant improvement in the A1C levels.