Effectiveness of a digital health-enabled community pharmacy counseling intervention for type 2 diabetes management: A pre-post study in South Korea.

BACKGROUND

Despite the availability of effective pharmacological therapies, glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus remains suboptimal in real-world settings. Digitally enabled care models offer opportunities to enhance continuous monitoring and patient-centered management in community-based settings.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effectiveness of a digital health-enabled community pharmacy counseling intervention for type 2 diabetes management.

METHODS

This pre-post study evaluated a 24-week intervention involving community pharmacists, integrating biweekly medication counseling, self-monitoring of blood glucose support, and structured lifestyle management through a digital health platform and connected monitoring devices. (Trial Registration: KCT0011486)

RESULTS

A total of 28 patients and 17 community pharmacists were included. Mean glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) decreased significantly from 8.12 ± 1.10% at baseline to 7.30 ± 0.86% at 24 weeks (mean difference -0.82%, p < 0.001). Significant reductions were also observed in fasting blood glucose (p = 0.021) and triglycerides (p = 0.018). Improvements in glycemic control were evident by 3 months and were sustained throughout the intervention period. Patient-reported outcomes demonstrated significant improvements in both diabetes-related awareness and self-care behaviors. Awareness improved across key domains, including HbA1c knowledge, medication use, exercise, dietary management, and complication awareness (p = 0.035, 0.017, 0.002, 0.009, and 0.031, respectively). Self-care behaviors also improved, particularly in glucose monitoring (p = 0.009), dietary habits (p = 0.009), and physical activity, including exercise frequency (p = 0.002) and duration (p < 0.001). Despite these improvements, dietary management remained the most frequently reported challenge.

CONCLUSIONS

A digital health-enabled community pharmacy service was associated with improvements in glycemic control and patient self-management in type 2 diabetes. These findings support the potential of digitally integrated pharmacy services as a scalable approach to chronic disease management. Further controlled studies are warranted to establish causal effects and long-term sustainability.