The Critical Role of Diabetology Pharmacists in Improving Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Care and Outcomes

Diabetes and its related conditions have become increasingly complex and prevalent. Furthermore, diabetes is closely associated with multiple comorbidities and complications. Helping people manage these interconnected disorders requires a team approach, with frequent touchpoints and optimal guidance. As numerous treatments and technologies can enhance diabetes care, these modalities also increase the complexity of clinical diabetes management. A skilled interprofessional team represents a best practice model in diabetes care. Pharmacists have played a central and critical role in diabetes care, consistently improving patient outcomes. Ample evidence has suggested that pharmacist-led treatment protocols improve diabetes care and patient outcomes, particularly given the shortage of specialized pharmacists in the field. This highlights the need to establish a structured postgraduate training consortium and to recognize diabetology pharmacists, a newly emerging classification of clinical pharmacists with training and experience in diabetology (a newly recognized medical subspecialty). This article outlines a strategic plan to set the foundation for bridging current gaps and introducing the much-needed voice of pharmacists in diabetology. This plan involves partnering with the American College of Diabetology (ACD) to convene a consortium of clinical pharmacy experts who focus on diabetes to institute a call to action and design a set of competencies for credentialing ACD-certified diabetology pharmacists.