Comparison of patients achieving treatment success with a glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonist for weight management between primary care provider and pharmacist co‐managed patients

Abstract Introduction Glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor (GLP‐1) agonists have great efficacy for weight management; however, treatment success rates with an ambulatory clinical pharmacist co‐managing these agents have yet to be well established. Objective To compare the difference in reaching treatment success for weight management on GLP‐1 agonist therapy between patients in the primary care setting co‐managed by their primary care provider (PCP) and embedded ambulatory clinical pharmacists, compared with those managed by their PCP alone. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study that evaluated adult patients prescribed either the GLP‐1 agonist liraglutide or semaglutide for weight management between October 1, 2021, and August 14, 2023. The two cohorts compared the pharmacist co‐managed group versus standard stand‐alone PCP management. Patients were evaluated for treatment success by losing 5% or more of their total body weight 12 weeks after achieving their maximally tolerated dose of GLP‐1 agonist therapy. Results A total of 161 patients were included (PCP alone, n = 81; pharmacist co‐management, n = 80). More patients in the pharmacist co‐managed group achieved treatment success (82.5% vs. 33.3%, p < 0.001) and lost a higher percentage of body weight at 6–8 months (9.6% vs. 6.3%, p < 0.001). Documentation of treatment success was not complete in 59.3% of patients in the PCP alone group and 10% of patients in the pharmacist co‐managed group; a significant difference in treatment success rates between groups was not observed between the pharmacist co‐managed group and PCP alone groups after removing undocumented cases (91.7% vs. 81.8%, p = 0.187) More patients lost 5%–14.9% of their body weight in the pharmacist co‐managed group. Conclusion For patients treated with a GLP‐1 agonist for weight management, pharmacist co‐management led to higher rates of documented treatment success. However, the results are limited by a large proportion of undocumented outcomes in the PCP alone group.