Implementation of a pharmacist-led, multidisciplinary diabetes management team.

PURPOSE

The development, implementation, and evaluation of a pharmacist-led, multidisciplinary diabetes management team (DMT) at a 564-bed medical center in Jackson, Mississippi, are described.

SUMMARY

The overwhelming prevalence of diabetes in Mississippi has a major impact on the state's health care system. Mississippi Baptist Health Systems (MBHS) developed a consultation-driven DMT in November 2008. The DMT embraced the multidisciplinary approach by uniting pharmacists, physicians, and other health care providers to optimize the care of patients with diabetes. The DMT initially focused on patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery but also manages patients with a variety of causes of hyperglycemia. To evaluate the success of the DMT, postoperative serum blood glucose levels were collected from January 2008 through December 2010 for patients undergoing CABG at MBHS before and after the implementation of the DMT. The primary outcome was the number of patients with serum blood glucose concentrations exceeding 200 mg/dL. Secondary outcomes measured included the rates of sternal surgical-site infection and the frequency of hypoglycemia.

CONCLUSION

Implementation of a pharmacist-led, multidisciplinary DMT helped to achieve intensive glycemic control in CABG patients and decrease the rate of infection.