Scot Simpson, BSP, PharmD, MSc

Area of Study / Keywords

Pharmacoepidemiology Diabetes Pharmacy Practice Medication Adherence

About

I received my BSP from the University of Saskatchewan and completed a hospital pharmacy residency at the Regina General Hospital. After working as a hospital pharmacist for a few years, I returned to school and completed a PharmD (University of Toronto) and MSc (University of Alberta). I joined the Faculty in 2004 and teach in the areas of evidence based medicine (primarily focusing on critical appraisal of observational trials) and endocrine (primarily focusing on diabetes management).

Research

My research can be categorized into two major areas.

Health Outcomes Research

I am interested in understanding the effects of medications used to treat people with type 2 diabetes. My work in this area follows three lines of inquiry:

1. Is there an association between sulfonylurea use and risk of adverse cardiovascular events?
2. Does aspirin dose moderate the effect of aspirin in people with type 2 diabetes?
3. How does medication adherence affect the association between medications and outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes?

I have used a number of research methods in the fields of pharmacoepidemiology and systematic reviews to examine these questions.

Health Services Research

I am interested in understanding the effects of pharmacist intervention in the management of people with type 2 diabetes.

Selected Publications

• Nagy D, Bresee LC, Eurich DT, Simpson SH. Rural residence is associated with a delayed trend away from sulfonylurea use for treatment intensification of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 2023;46:613-9 (DOI 10.2337/dc22-1223).
• Khan D, Hughes CA, Schindel TJ, Simpson SH. A survey of Alberta pharmacists’ actions and opinions in regard to administering vaccines and medications by injection. J Am Pharm Assoc (in press). (DOI 10.1016/j.japh.2022.12.002).
• Niaz D, Necyk C, Simpson SH. Depression and antecedent medication adherence in a cohort of new metformin users. Diabetic Medicine 2021;38:e14462.
• Campbell SA, Light PE, Simpson SH. Costarting sitagliptin with metformin is associated with a lower likelihood of disease progression in newly treated people with type 2 diabetes: a cohort study. Diabetic Medicine 2020;37:1715-22.
• Gilani F, Majumdar SR, Johnson, Simpson SH. Factors associated with pneumococcal vaccination in 2040 people with type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study. Diabetes & Metabolism 2020;46:137-43.
• Eskin M, Simpson SH, Eurich DT. Evaluation of the healthy user effect in metformin and other oral antihyperglycemic users in adult type 2 diabetes patients. Canadian Journal of Diabetes 2019;43:322-8.
• Abdelmoneim AS, Eurich DT, Senthilselvan A, Qiu W, Simpson SH. Dose-response relationship between sulfonylureas and major cardiovascular events in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety 2016;25:1186-95.
• Simpson SH, Lee J, Choi S, Vandermeer B, Abdelmoneim AS, Featherstone TR. Mortality risk varies amongst sulfonylureas: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology 2015;3:43-51.
• Simpson SH, Abdelmoneim AS, Omran D, Featherstone TR. Prevalence of high on-treatment platelet reactivity in diabetic patients treated with higher versus lower doses of aspirin: a systematic review. Am J Med 2014;127:95.e1-95.e9.
• Abdelmoneim AS, Eurich DT, Gamble JM, Johnson JA, Seubert JM, Qiu W, Simpson SH. Risk of acute coronary events associated with glyburide compared to gliclazide use in patients with type 2 diabetes: a nested case-control study. Diab Obesity & Metab 2014;16:22-9.
• Eurich DT, Simpson SH, Senthilselvan A, Asche CV, Sandhu-Minhas JK, McAlister FA. Comparative safety and effectiveness of sitagliptin in patients with type 2 diabetes: retrospective population based cohort study. Brit Med J 2013;346:f2267.
• Ladhani NN, Majumdar SR, Johnson JA, Tsuyuki RT, Lewanczuk RZ, Spooner R, Simpson SH. Adding pharmacists to primary care teams reduces predicted long-term risk of cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetic patients without established cardiovascular disease: results from a randomized trial. Diab Med 2012;29:1433-9.
• Abdelmoneim AS, Hasenbank SE, Seubert JM, Brocks DR, Light PE, Simpson SH. Variations in tissue selectivity amongst insulin secretagogues: a systematic review. Diab Obesity & Metab 2012;14:130-8.
• Simpson SH, Gamble JM, Mereu L, Chambers T. Effect of aspirin dose on mortality and cardiovascular events in people with diabetes: a meta-analysis. J Gen Intern Med 2011;26:1336-44.
• Simpson SH, Majumdar SR, Tsuyuki RT, Lewanczuk RZ, Spooner R, Johnson JA. Effect of adding pharmacists to primary care teams on blood pressure control in patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled trial (ISRCTN97121854). Diabetes Care 2011;34:20-6.
• Simpson SH, Eurich DT, Majumdar SR, Padwal R, Tsuyuki RT, Varney J, Johnson JA. A meta-analysis of the association between drug therapy adherence and mortality. Brit Med J 2006;333:15-8.
• Simpson SH, Majumdar SR, Tsuyuki RT, Eurich DT, Johnson JA. The dose-response relationship between sulfonylureas and mortality in type 2 diabetes: a population-based cohort study. Can Med Assoc J 2006;174:169-74.

Teaching

Pharmacy 343 (Pharmacotherapy 2)

This course is designed to help undergraduate pharmacy students develop fundamental knowledge of fluid and electrolyte imbalances, laboratory values, as well as renal, urinary tract, and endocrine conditions.

May 27, 2024: I am actively seeking applications for an MSc trainee position to begin in September 2024. The successful applicant will learn to apply standard pharmacoepidemiologic methods to examine the association between drug exposure and health outcomes.

PHARM 343 - Pharmacotherapy 2

Students will develop fundamental knowledge of fluid/electrolyte imbalances and laboratory values, as well as renal, urinary tract, and endocrine conditions. They will apply therapeutic and pharmaceutical science knowledge to various patient care scenarios. Students will further develop their critical thinking and self-directed learning skills, along with their breadth and depth of therapeutic knowledge, as they incorporate principles of evidence-based therapeutic decision making within the patient care process framework. (Restricted to Pharmacy students.)

PHARM 592 - Foundations of Health Services Research

This course will provide students with an overview of health services research methods and their application. Topics covered in the course will lead students through the lifecycle of a health services research study and includes formulation of study objectives, generating a hypothesis, stakeholder engagement, selection and justification of a study design, types of evaluation, and dissemination of results. Common qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods study designs used in health services research will be discussed using examples from the literature. Prerequisites: none. However, a basic understanding of common terms and concepts in health services research and epidemiology is recommended.

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