Workplace‐Based Cardiovascular Risk Management by Community Pharmacists: Impact on Blood Pressure, Lipid Levels, and Weight

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of a community pharmacist-delivered cardiovascular case-management program by comparing body mass index (weight), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and full lipid profile at the beginning of the program with these outcome measures at the end of the program. DESIGN: Retrospective data analysis using billing data submitted between July 1, 2001, and October 31, 2004, with a pre-post design in which subjects served as their own controls. SETTING: Manufacturing workplace in rural Iowa. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-six workers with risk factors for cardiovascular disease (mean age 40.67 yrs), 37 had diabetes mellitus and 19 did not. INTERVENTION: During visits to the workers, pharmacists provided education about cardiovascular disease, identification of drug therapy problems, and importance of routine blood pressure, pulse, and weight measurements; they communicated with participants' physicians as needed. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The number of pharmacist visits/participant ranged from 1-13 (mean +/- SD 6.97 +/- 3.05). Outcome measures were weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, full lipid profiles (in patients with diabetes), and percentage of patients achieving treatment goal by the end of the 3 years. Statistically significant differences between the first and last visits were achieved for both systolic (124.12 +/- 11.07 and 120.36 +/- 14.39 mm Hg, respectively, p=0.016) and diastolic (80.4 +/- 9.01 and 77.43 +/- 9.14 mm Hg, respectively, p=0.019) blood pressure. The 19 patients without diabetes showed a statistically significant improvement in diastolic blood pressure (p=0.039), but the 37 patients with diabetes did not show a significant difference. A nonsignificant increase was seen in the percentage of patients with diabetes achieving low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) level goal between the first and last visits (p=0.06). CONCLUSION: A cardiovascular case-management program delivered in the workplace to middle-aged working adults by community pharmacists improved blood pressure and reduced LDL levels. The program was not effective, however, in weight reduction.