Effect of a Digital-Driven Physician-Pharmacist Collaborative Model for Diabetes in Primary Health Care: Cluster Randomized Trial.

2026-03-13
Journal of medical Internet research 28
- Jie Xiao
- Qing Wang
- Shenglan Tan
- Lei Chen
- Daxiong Xiang
- Haiyan Yuan
- Xia Li
- Shuting Huang
- Bingjie Tang
- Yan Guo
- Haiying Huang
- Danhui Zhao
- Yue Li
- Li Wang
- Qun Li
- Juan Liu
- Ping Xu

PubMed: 41824949
DOI: 10.2196/77470

Study Design

Type: Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT)
Sample size: n = 574
Population: 574 patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D)
Methods: 12-month cluster randomized controlled trial; intervention involved routine therapy from physicians along with pharmaceutical interventions from pharmacists delivered through a combination of face-to-face visits and mobile health care; intervention group received 4 face-to-face visits and biweekly remote education sessions over 12 months
Blinding: Open-label
Duration: 12 months
Funding: Unclear

Large Human Trial

Background

Evidence-based physician-pharmacist collaborative clinics have demonstrated significant short-term benefits for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), but their long-term effectiveness remains unclear, especially in primary health care settings.

Objective

This study aimed to explore the long-term effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a novel, digital-driven, multifaceted physician-pharmacist collaborative model for managing patients with T2D in underresourced settings.

Methods

We conducted a 12-month cluster randomized controlled trial from May 2021 to December 2022 across 6 primary health care settings in China. Guided by the theory of planned behavior, the intervention involved routine therapy from physicians along with pharmaceutical interventions from pharmacists. These were delivered through a combination of face-to-face visits and mobile health care. The intervention group received 4 face-to-face visits and biweekly remote education sessions over the 12 months. We conducted intention-to-treat analyses to estimate differences in clinical and behavior indicators between the intervention and control groups. Primary outcomes included glycosylated hemoglobin and 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk. Data were analyzed using adjusted generalized estimation equations.

Results

This study included 574 patients (291 in the intervention group and 283 in the control group). Over 12 months, patients in the intervention group had significant reductions in hemoglobin A_1c (-2.57 vs -1.96, respectively; P<.001; 95% CI -1.027 to -0.238) and 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk (-1.35 vs 0.01, respectively; P<.001; 95% CI -1.690 to -0.630) compared with the control group. Substantial improvements were also observed in several secondary outcomes, including fasting blood glucose, 2-hour postprandial blood glucose, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, blood pressure, triglyceride, and total cholesterol. Total diabetes-related costs decreased, and patient satisfaction improved significantly in the intervention group. There were no significant differences in BMI, high-density lipoprotein, or low-density lipoprotein.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that the physician-pharmacist collaborative model could improve the long-term quality and efficiency of T2D management and reduce medical costs in underresourced areas globally. Patients with T2D, especially those with central obesity or high cardiovascular risk, may benefit more from collaborative clinics.

Trial registration

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2000031839; https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=51910.