A Description of Medication Therapy Management Services in Minnesota

Objective: To describe Medication Therapy Management (MTM) services in Minnesota, quantifying how many patient encounters occur per week and compiling provider and practice site characteristics. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Minnesota practice sites surveyed in June and July 2010. Participants: MTM providers in Minnesota who are registered users of the Assurance™ documentation system or are members of the Minnesota Pharmacists Association MTM Academy. Intervention: Self-administered online questionnaire completed by study participants. Main Outcome Measures: The number of patient encounters per week, practice site location, practitioner length of time as a MTM service provider, and the motivating factors for providing direct patient care services. Results: There were 56 respondents, reporting a median of 5 MTM patient encounters per week (range 0 to 35) and a median length of service of 4 years (range15). Clinic-based practices were reported by 66% of providers and community pharmacy-based practices by 30%. Eighty-five percent practice in an urban setting, 9% in a large rural town and 6% in a small rural town. Nearly half (46%) of providers are the sole practitioner at their site. The most commonly cited motivation for providing direct patient care services was to improve patient outcomes. Conclusion: MTM service providers in Minnesota were more likely to report practicing in an urban area and in a clinic. Many practices were low-volume or newly established, with half of all respondents reporting 5 or fewer MTM patient encounters per week and a length of service of four years or less. Type: Student Project

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Expanding the role of pharmacy technicians to facilitate a proactive pharmacist practice

American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy ◽

10.1093/ajhp/zxy065 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 76 (6) ◽

pp. 398-402 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Brandi Newby

Keyword(s):

Patient Care ◽

Pharmacy Practice ◽

Medication Therapy Management ◽

Direct Patient Care ◽

Order Entry ◽

Practice Model ◽

Therapy Management ◽

Pharmacy Technician ◽

Medication Therapy ◽

Pharmacist Role

Abstract Purpose This study describes a change in pharmacy practice to expand pharmacy technician roles to allow dispensing without a pharmacist check, thereby enhancing the pharmacist role in direct patient care. Summary In an effort to optimize patient care with limited resources, we set out to change our pharmacy practice model. We transferred duties that did not require clinical judgment in the dispensary from the pharmacist to the regulated technician. The transferred roles included order entry, order entry verification, and final check of medications and preparations. The changes in roles were well received by the pharmacy staff. The pharmacist practice changed from a reactive process, where the pharmacist waited for orders to be sent to the pharmacy, to a proactive process where the pharmacist collaborated directly with patients and the health care team. The pharmacists were able to provide daily medication therapy management for every inpatient in the new practice model compared with only reactive targeted care in the former practice model. Implementation of the new practice model at our site led to a reduction in time for medications to be delivered to the patient and reduced pharmacy-related medication errors. Conclusion A new pharmacy practice model was successfully implemented whereby the pharmacy technician roles were expanded to the point where they perform all the distribution roles in the dispensary. This, in turn, allowed a change in the pharmacist role, which was focused on daily proactive direct patient care and medication therapy management.

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