Amrit Kaur¹, Devika Nechikat¹, Divya Dadwal², Avantika Chandra³, Parminder Kaur Gill⁴, Surinder Pal Singh Bedi⁵ and Ananda Mohan Chakraborty⁶*

¹Resident, Doctor of Pharmacy, Chandigarh University, Punjab, India ²Resident, Doctor of Pharmacy, Chandigarh group of colleges, Punjab, India ³Clinical Manager, Indus International Hospital, Punjab, India ⁴MD Anesthesiology, Medical Superintendent, Indus International Hospital, Punjab, India ⁵MD Anesthesiology, Medical Director, Indus International Hospital, Punjab, India ⁶DM Endocrinology, Department of Endocrinology, Indus International Hospital, Punjab, India

*Corresponding Author: Ananda Mohan Chakraborty, DM Endocrinology, Department of Endocrinology, Indus International Hospital, Punjab, India.

Received: August 14, 2026; Published: October 01, 2026

Background: Hospital-to-home transitions represent a vulnerable period for patients with diabetes, characterized by medication discrepancies, suboptimal adherence, and preventable glycemic complications. Despite growing recognition of pharmacist-led transitional care, comparative evidence across distinct anti-diabetic medication classes remains scarce.

Methods: A prospective, randomized controlled study enrolled 90 hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes discharged on insulin (n = 30), sulfonylurea (n = 30), or non-sulfonylurea oral agents (n = 30). Within each stratum, patients were allocated 1:1 to a four-phase pharmacist-driven discharge counseling program (intervention, n = 45) or standard care (control, n = 45). The program comprised medication reconciliation, structured counseling using the teach-back method, 72-hour telephone follow-up, outpatient assessment, and 30-day telephone review, delivered by supervised pharmacy postgraduate students.

Results: Baseline characteristics were comparable across groups (mean random blood sugar 205 +/- 48 mg/dL; 53% male). Among 60 total glycemic events, hypoglycemia predominated (n = 41, 68.3%), with insulin users bearing the highest burden (n = 21, 51.2%). Intervention participants demonstrated superior medication adherence (87% vs. 62%, p < 0.001), fewer hypoglycemic episodes (8 vs. 18, p = 0.021), reduced hyperglycemic events (6 vs. 13, p = 0.048), lower emergency department utilization (9% vs. 22%, p = 0.032), and decreased 30-day readmissions (11% vs. 18%, p = 0.041).

Conclusions: A structured, multi-contact pharmacist-driven discharge counseling program significantly improves medication adherence, reduces glycemic complications, and decreases acute care utilization across diverse anti-diabetic regimens. These findings support the integration of pharmacy-led transitional care into routine discharge protocols for hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes.

Keywords: Clinical Pharmacist; Discharge Counseling; Diabetes Mellitus; Medication Adherence; Transitional Care; Glycemic Control; Hospital Readmission; Patient Education

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Citation

Citation: Ananda Mohan Chakraborty., et al. “Integrating Clinical Pharmacist–Led Discharge Counseling into Diabetes Care Transitions: Comparative Outcomes Versus Standard Care". Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 10.10 (2026): 14-23.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2026 Ananda Mohan Chakraborty., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.