(1218) Assessing Patient Interest in a Pharmacist-led Weight Management Service in a Community Pharmacy Setting

Objectives: The primary objective of this study is to assess patient interest in a pharmacist-provided weight management service in the community setting. The secondary objectives are to assess patient preference to the service they would participate in and determine patient perceived barriers to participation in the weight management service. From 1999-2020, US obesity prevalence increased from 30.5% to 41.9%, and the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%. Heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancers are the leading causes of preventable, early death in patients with obesity. In recent years there has been an increase in FDA approved weight loss medications that are showing a statistical and clinical significance in reduction of weight in patients who are overweight and obese. Patients need to supplement these medications with non-pharmacological therapies as well. A goal of Healthy People 2030 is to “increase the proportion of health care visits by adults with obesity that include counseling on weight loss medications, nutrition, or physical activity.” By 2030 this initiative sets out to have 32.6% of patients with obesity to be counseled by health care professionals on weight loss, nutrition, or physical activity counseling. As of 2023, that number is 21%. There is a gap in care that pharmacists can fill as they are qualified to provide the recommended counseling to these patients. Community pharmacists are currently providing services to patients in a variety of different disease states such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. In a pharmacist-led weight management program, pharmacists in a nationwide grocery store chain setting are ideally posed to help these patients as they are able to provide non-pharmacologic diet recommendations in real time.

Methods: A nationwide, multicenter, prospective cohort study surveying patients about medications that may reduce weight will be conducted across multiple locations of a grocery store pharmacy chain. Data collection will occur over a period of two months and will utilize a variety of question types, including binary, multiple choice, and Likert scale questions. This phase of the study will include 18 grocery store pharmacy residency sites nationwide including Pennsylvania, Maryland, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Oregon, Idaho, Illinois, and California to distribute the survey to patients who fit inclusion criteria. Patients will be included if they are age 18 years and older who are prescribed the following agents: orlistat, phentermine-topiramate ER, naltrexone-bupropion ER, semaglutide, liraglutide, tirzepatide, exenatide, and dulaglutide and give consent to participate in the survey. Exclusion criteria is patients who do not have a smartphone or a way to access the survey via a QR code. The survey will be provided through a QR code that will be placed with their medications that are waiting to be picked up. When the patient picks up their medications, they will be referred to the QR code and asked to complete the survey. All pharmacists, at the selected sites, will be trained on which patients will be eligible to receive the survey and a script to read to the patient at pickup. This survey will be blinded as those distributing the survey will not have access to patients’ responses. Data analysis using descriptive statics will occur upon completion of data collection. This study is pending IRB approval from Temple University.

Results: Institutional Review Board approval is anticipated in November 2023. Data collection will occur from December 2023 to February 2024.

Conclusions: The findings of this study will be useful to better understand patient interests and barriers to a community pharmacist-led weight management service.