Primary Care Providers' and Staff Confidence and Awareness of Continuous Glucose Monitors Following Pharmacist‐Led Education and Training: A Pre‐Post Cohort Study

ABSTRACT Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is an effective and convenient method for assessing glucose control for both patients and providers. Over the years, guidelines have strengthened recommendations with regard to CGM, and payors have improved coverage. This has expanded utilization to the primary care setting versus being limited to specialists. Many primary care providers (PCPs) and their staff lack education and training and/or experience with CGMs. Therefore, a CGM education and training program was developed by pharmacists for primary care clinics within a single health system. The goal of this pilot program was to integrate CGMs into primary care clinics by providing education, training, technology support, and supplies. The primary objective was to evaluate whether individualized, on‐site support enhanced provider and staff confidence and awareness of CGM use, with secondary objectives to assess the impact on CGM prescribing and billing. A quasi‐experimental design was used to evaluate a CGM education and training program involving pre‐ and post‐surveys to measure provider and staff confidence with CGM prescribing and use. Participants attended an in‐person, one‐hour training session, with breakout groups for individualized education or an equivalent pre‐recorded virtual session. Additional support was provided through access to a clinical pharmacy specialist or student pharmacist during a minimum 8‐week implementation phase. CGM education and training resulted in a significant increase in provider and staff confidence in job‐specific tasks associated with CGMs, with providers reporting an increased likelihood to prescribe CGM and utilize the ambulatory glucose profile report. Significant increases in prescribing and billing of CGMs were also observed. Targeted education and training developed by pharmacists for PCPs and staff increased confidence and CGM use in primary care clinics at a single health system.