Can virtual reality become the new training vehicle in community pharmacies for continuous glucose monitoring?

This action research study, approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Northeastern University, explores the role community pharmacists play in helping diabetes patients with Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM). Community pharmacists play a pivotal role in administering healthcare services to patients in the U.S. Using qualitative dominant action research methodology, this study employed semi-structured interviews, observations, and surveys to reveal that community pharmacists need scalable and accessible CGM professional development. The findings indicated that today’s pharmacy ecosystem is quite chaotic and not conducive to traditional methods of training such as being called on by manufacturer representatives to be educated. Further, there is an absence of diabetes-specific and CGM services being provided at pharmacy, the nation’s most reachable and frequently visited healthcare destination. The study underscores the need for technology-driven CGM education solutions to empower community pharmacists in delivering primary care services for patients with diabetes. Action steps were engineered to explore the use of virtual reality (VR) technology as a training modality in community pharmacy as a solution. Findings signify that VR technology can be an effective training tool that enables community pharmacists to provide CGM primary care services for patients with diabetes.