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.