State public health department diabetes program workforce members cultivated productive relationships with a variety of pharmacy employees, according to a study recently published in the Journal of American Pharmacists Association.

To explore collaborative dynamics between public health departments and the pharmacy sector and identify the types of activities pursued together to expand access to diabetes-related interventions, Robert Montierth, PharmD, MBA, from the division of diabetes translation at the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC, Atlanta, and colleagues examined annual work plans and progress reports submitted by the funding recipients to the CDC over 4 years. Any mention of collaboration with pharmacies, pharmacists, or pharmacy organizations was flagged, coded, and analyzed to understand the breadth and depth of these partnerships.

Of the 51 public health department recipients, 48 collaborated with pharmacy partners within their jurisdictions. The multifaceted collaborations focused on the development and implementation of diabetes self-management education and support and type 2 diabetes prevention programs directly within pharmacy settings (68.8%), delivering diabetes-related training to pharmacy professionals (91.7%), and enhancing billing and sustainability mechanisms for pharmacy-based diabetes services (52.1%).

“Through these partnerships, they leveraged one another's resources, expertise, and mutual determination to prepare and carry out diabetes-related interventions within their states,” the researchers wrote. “This document provides pharmacists and pharmacy decision-makers with foundational knowledge that can lead to increased engagement with public health partners to expand diabetes management and prevention services in pharmacy settings.”

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Disclosures: No authors declared financial ties to drugmakers.

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