Background: Recent clinical trials and guideline updates have highlighted the efficacy and safety of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) use in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and comorbidities including atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), chronic kidney disease (CKD), or heart failure (HF). Objective: This study assesses the rates of guideline-based prescribing of SGLT2i in patients with T2D and one or more of the following comorbidities: ASCVD, CKD, or HF, prior to and after the 2022 American Diabetes Association (ADA) guideline publication within the Atrius Health clinical pharmacy, internal medicine, and specialty medicine departments. Methods: This is a retrospective chart review of data from the electronic medical record. Patients with the aforementioned criteria were included if they were managed by either the clinical pharmacy department, internal medicine, or specialty medicine departments. Patients were excluded if they did not have any of the comorbidities listed or a form of diabetes other than T2D. Results: Of the 10,631 patients enrolled, 354 (3.3%) were initiated on an SGLT2i during the study. The average number of SGLT2i initiations prior to the 2022 ADA guideline publication was five prescription starts per week. After the guideline publication initiation increased to seven prescription starts per week. Secondary outcomes showed the majority of SGLT2i prescriptions were started in the internal medicine department, followed by cardiology and nephrology. Conclusion: Overall utilization rates of SGLT2i are low but increased after the 2022 ADA guidelines were published. These results suggest opportunities to optimize the use of SGLT2i in this patient population.
Keywords: ambulatory care; clinical pharmacy; diabetes; electronic medical record; sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors.