Abstract
ObjectivePrevious reports have highlighted the suboptimal utilization and prescription of statin therapy among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the Malaysian clinical practice. This study aims to test the impact of a pharmacist-led academic detailing program on improving the overall statin therapy prescribing in Malaysian hospital and primary care settings.MethodsAs a quasi-experimental design with a control group and pre-tests., we examined 1,598 medical records of T2DM subjects in six healthcare facilities in the state of Pahang, Malaysia. In all study sites, there was a pre and post-intervention assessment of the percentage of appropriate statin therapy prescribing that complied with the clinical guidelines with no potential safety issues. The intervention was an academic detailing program offered to the health care providers in three study sites, while the other three sites served as the control group. A comparison of the overall percentage of appropriate statin therapy prescribing before and after the academic detailing was performed in all intervention and control sites.ResultsOverall, 797 medical records were examined in the pre-intervention phase, and 801 records were evaluated in the post-intervention phase. The academic detailing program was associated with a statistically significant difference in the proportion of appropriate statin therapy prescribing between the post-intervention phase compared to the pre-intervention phase (n = 246, 61.7% versus n = 188, 47.1%), p = 0.001. Whereas, the appropriate statin therapy prescribing in the control study sites experienced a modest change from 53.8% (214/398) to 56.7% (228/402), p = 0.220. The academic detailing showed significant increases in the proportions of appropriate statin therapy prescribing in both hospital and primary care settings.ConclusionsThe academic detailing program was found to be significantly associated with a positive impact on the overall statin therapy prescribing among patients with T2DM in Malaysian hospital and primary care settings.
Highlights
The appropriate use of lipid-lowering therapy (LLT), e.g. statin therapy has received increasing recognition and attention given the treatment gap and undertreatment (18.3% & 35%) of eligible patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) contradictory to the clinical guidelines recommendations in the United Kingdom and Malaysia, respectively [1,2]
The academic detailing program was associated with a statistically significant difference in the proportion of appropriate statin therapy prescribing between the post-intervention phase compared to the pre-intervention phase (n = 246, 61.7% versus n = 188, 47.1%), p = 0.001
The academic detailing showed significant increases in the proportions of appropriate statin therapy prescribing in both hospital and primary care settings
Summary
The appropriate use of lipid-lowering therapy (LLT), e.g. statin therapy has received increasing recognition and attention given the treatment gap and undertreatment (18.3% & 35%) of eligible patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) contradictory to the clinical guidelines recommendations in the United Kingdom and Malaysia, respectively [1,2]. It has been reported in a study conducted in the United States that even after reading the clinical guidelines, healthcare providers could still have gaps in their knowledge regarding the rationale and importance of the guidelines recommendations [3]. It was revealed that the pharmacist-managed program was linked to higher proportions of subjects achieving their T2DM treatment goals at three and six-month intervals in comparison with usual medical care [10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
