Evidence mapPaperPMID 41860902Full record

ArticlePloS one2026

Effectiveness of a pharmacist diabetes coaching program: A propensity-matched retrospective analysis.

Daniel Amante, Samir Malkani, Richard Haas, Biqi Wang, Cheryl Barry, Bill McElnea, Lillian Piz, Gabriella Pugliese, Hinal Sharma, Apurv Soni

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Daniel AmanteDepartment of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, Division of Health Informatics and Implementation Science, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1488-9624
Samir MalkaniDepartment of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology & Diabetes, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9076-4327
Richard HaasDepartment of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology & Diabetes, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Biqi WangDepartment of Medicine, Division of Health System Science, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Cheryl BarryDiabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, UMass Memorial Health, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Bill McElneaShields Health Solutions, Stoughton, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Lillian PizShields Health Solutions, Stoughton, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Gabriella PuglieseShields Health Solutions, Stoughton, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Hinal SharmaShields Health Solutions, Stoughton, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Apurv SoniDepartment of Medicine, Division of Health System Science, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5049-3657

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLimited evidence exists on the clinical and cost impact of diabetes coaching programs integrated into care teams. The Diabetes Care Coach (DCC) program is a pharmacist-driven telehealth coaching program for patients with poorly controlled diabetes. Coaches provide frequent telehealth support to improve glycemic control through medication management, nutrition and lifestyle counseling, leveraging diabetes technologies, initiating mental health referrals, and addressing health-related social needs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the UMass Memorial Health (UMMH) DCC program. METHODS AND

findingsA retrospective matched cohort study was conducted with data collected from the UMMH electronic health record and the UMass Memorial Medicare Accountable Care Organization (ACO) claims database from January 2020 to December 2023. The DCC program was implemented at the UMMH diabetes clinic, a specialty care clinic in Worcester, MA, supported by the UMass Specialty Pharmacy program, which is managed by Shields Health Solutions. Participants included patients with persistent severe hyperglycemia (hemoglobin A1c [A1c] ≥ 9) receiving care at the diabetes clinic. Intervention participants (n = 239) enrolled in the DCC program were matched with comparison participants (n = 815) not enrolled in the program during the study period. Intervention and comparison participants who were also enrolled in ACO were considered for cost analyses. Between-group differences in glycemic control (A1c change), health care utilization (emergency department visits and days hospitalized), and cost (total medical expenditures, TME) were evaluated. Intervention participants experienced a greater mean A1c reduction of -0.4 percentage points (95% CI, -1.1 to 0.3) compared with comparison participants. Within the ACO subgroup, intervention participants also had a greater mean reduction in annual TME of $2,649 per patient (95% CI, -$14,425 to $9,127) and a reduction in hospital days per patient per year of -5.2 (95% CI, -9.8 to -0.6) relative to comparison participants.

conclusionsThe DCC program was associated with directional improvements in clinical, health care utilization, and cost outcomes and was cost-neutral due to savings and associated revenue. With approximately one-third of participants having Medicaid insurance, the sustainability of such programs increases through leveraging the 340B program to enhance care for economically vulnerable patients.

Indexed as

Diabetes MellitusMentoringPharmacistsAgedFemaleGlycated HemoglobinHumansMalePropensity ScoreRetrospective StudiesTelemedicineUnited StatesGlycated Hemoglobin

Identifiers

PMID41860902
PMCPMC13004327

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.