A team-based approach led by pharmacists helped to bring down blood sugar levels in a small pilot program for diabetic patients.
Lakeshore Community Health Care in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, organized a team to work with patients who had A1C levels of 9 or higher and high blood pressure. The team included health center staff and students from Concordia University Wisconsin who were studying pharmacy, dietetics, nursing, and athletic training.
The intensive 12-week program started and ended with visits to the patients at home to get labs and vital measurements such as blood pressure. This provided baseline and final data.
The health center loaned iPads to participants so they could take part in regular online diabetes education sessions on topics such as nutrition, exercise, and goal setting.
They attended sessions with Lakeshore’s pharmacists, who explained how various medications worked, side effects, and related information. Patients who used the health center’s pharmacy exclusively had better results. “We had more touch points with them,” said Hannah Neff, a staff pharmacist at Lakeshore.
Participants also received two meals daily from a local Fresh Meals on Wheels program. They received nutrition counseling and an in-person trip to do food shopping with a dietetic intern. In addition, an athletic trainer worked with them to ensure they learned how to get more movement into their daily lives, even those who could not take part in intensive exercise programs.
The pilot project involved a few dozen patients. Average blood sugar levels declined during the project. About 18% of participants saw a significant improvement that brought A1C readings down to less than 7.5.
Christa Wilson, director of pharmacy at the health center, said that in addition to physical benefits, the program provided some social benefits for participants. When talking to a health center staff person or student, some participants would mention that this was the only person they had talked to that day, or even that week.
Wilson noted that having student involvement was critical to the effort because it was so labor-intensive. Health center staff would not have been able to do it all.
The health center started the program before the COVID-19 pandemic and managed to continue by making some modifications along the way.
Long-term data on the program is still pending, but Lakeshore hopes to continue the efforts, especially with those who have uncontrolled diabetes.