Community pharmacy-based A1c screening: a Canadian model for XXXX care.

@entity1 @entity6
OBJECTIVES: Point-of-care HbA1c screening devices are a valuable tool that community pharmacists can use to monitor @entity1 with @entity6 and improve their overall management. We previously reported our experiences using these devices to assess glycaemic control in @entity6 @entity1 at three community pharmacy locations in Toronto, Ontario. Here, we report data from screening of over 1000 @entity1 at clinics held across Canada. METHODS: Community pharmacies across Canada offering A1c screening as part of their professional programmes were invited to upload screening data to a central database. A1c analysis was performed using the Bayer A1c Now. @entity1 recruitment and approach to A1c screening were at the discretion of the participating pharmacies and were not standardized. Data collection took place over a period of 8 months. KEY FINDINGS: The majority of @entity1 screened (59.1%) had A1c values above target, indicating inadequate glycaemic control. Glycaemic control was generally poorer among @entity1 on more intensive treatment regimens. A total of 1711 clinical interventions were performed by pharmacists. An average of two interventions were performed per @entity1 , and we observed a trend towards increased numbers of interventions in @entity1 with poorer glycaemic control. The prevalence of specific types of interventions showed an apparent shift from predominantly pharmacist-directed interventions in @entity1 with better glycaemic control towards an increased prevalence of physician-directed interventions in @entity1 with poorer glycaemic control. CONCLUSIONS: These results illustrate the prevalence of suboptimal glycaemic control among @entity6 @entity1 in the community, which represents a significant opportunity for pharmacists to use point-of-care screening to detect hyperglycaemia and intervene to improve disease management when warranted.
