Pharmacists Play Key Role in Supporting Patients Using GLP-1s
A conversation with Lydia Newsom, PharmD, clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice at Mercer University College of Pharmacy.
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists have become increasingly popular over the last several years. According to a poll from KFF, 1 in 8 American adults reported ever having taken a GLP-1. Although GLP-1s were initially approved to treat type 2 diabetes, they have shown efficacy in several other disease states, including overweight and obesity. One in 5 patients in the KFF poll said they took GLP-1s to treat overweight or obesity.1
According to Lydia Newsom, PharmD, pharmacists are well positioned to help patients who are taking GLP-1s. Aside from dispensing the medication, pharmacists can make sure patients understand proper administration, titration, and can even provide counseling on diet and lifestyle changes to help aid their weight loss.
Drug Topics® recently sat down with Newsom, a clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice at Mercer University College of Pharmacy, to discuss the role of the pharmacist in supporting patients with obesity who have been prescribed a GLP-1 and how pharmacists can integrate lifestyle counseling, including diet and exercise, in discussions with patients using GLP-1s for weight loss.
“[Pharmacists can] make sure that the patient understands the titration…[and understand] the safe dosage of these medications,” Newsom said. “I [also] think about making sure that the patient has an appropriate understanding of how these medications should be used. They are one tool in [their] arsenal but other tools are diet and lifestyle changes and physical activity. So, giving patients an appropriate understanding of the expectations from the drug but also to know what other tools they should be using to optimize the weight loss that they are seeing.”
READ MORE: Obesity Management Resource Center
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