Pharmacist-led, technology-assisted study to improve medication safety, cardiovascular risk factor control, and racial disparities in kidney transplant recipients

Background: Health disparities in African-American (AA) kidney transplant recipients compared with non-AA recipients are well established. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk control is a significant mediator of this disparity. Objective: To assess the efficacy of improved medication safety, CVD risk control, and racial disparities in kidney transplant recipients. Methods: Prospective, pharmacist-led, technology-aided, 6-month interventional clinical trial. A total of 60 kidney recipients with diabetes and hypertension were enrolled. Patients had to be at least one-year posttransplant with stable graft function. Primary outcome measured included hypertension, diabetes, and lipid control using intent-to-treat analyses, with differences assessed between AA and non-AA recipients. Results: The participants mean age was 59 years, with 42% being female and 68% being AA. Overall, patients demonstrated improvements in blood pressure <140/90 mmHg (baseline 50% vs end of study 68%, P = 0.054) and hemoglobin A1c (HgbA1c) <7% (baseline 33% vs end of study 47%, P = 0.061). African-Americans demonstrated a significant reduction from baseline in systolic blood pressure (−0.86 mmHg per month, P = 0.026), which was not evident in non-AAs (−0.13 mmHg per month, P = 0.865). Mean HgbA1c decreased from baseline in the overall group (−0.12% per month, P = 0.003), which was similar within AAs (−0.11% per month, P = 0.004) and non-AAs (−0.14% per month, P = 0.029). There were no changes in low-density lipoproteins, triglycerides, or high-density lipoproteins over the course of the study. Medication errors were significantly reduced and self-reported medication adherence significantly improved over the course of the study. Conclusion: These results demonstrate the potential efficacy of a pharmacist-led, technology-aided, educational intervention in improving medication safety, diabetes, and hypertension and reducing racial disparities in AA kidney transplant recipients (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02763943).