Physician acceptance of pharmacotherapy recommendations made by pharmacy students in a rural pharmacy-based diabetes care and education clinic

Objective: To assess outcomes from a rural, community pharmacy-based diabetes care and education program involving collaboration between local pharmacists and physicians, fourth-year pharmacy students, and University of Colorado Denver School of Pharmacy faculty members.

Design: Fourth-year pharmacy students provided education and testing (hemoglobin A1c, blood glucose, blood pressure, and lipid profiles) to diabetes patients, once a month for 6 months. Clinical notes with medication recommendations were faxed to each patient's physician following each visit.

Assessment: Twelve pharmacy students made 533 recommendations to 29 physicians for 52 patients over 18 months. Overall, 32% of the recommendations were accepted based on subsequent medication orders and patient reports. Three of the physicians accepted 50%-60% of the recommendations they received while 4 did not accept any recommendations.

Conclusions: Physician acceptance of pharmacy students' medication recommendations for patients attending a rural community pharmacy-based diabetes management clinic varied. Further study is needed to determine the reasons for this.