A Comparison of the Efficacy of Two Types of Faxed Medication Interventions

Abstract

Specific Aims: To assess the impact of provider outreach for an MTM program by comparing two formats of recommendations: a general informational fax and a prescription template fax. Methods: This study was a retrospective analysis of pharmacist recommendations at an MTM center in 2012. Recommendations were made following either a comprehensive medication review with a patient or of available pharmacy claims. Interventions included in this analysis were those made to improve patient treatment through the use of medications consistent with national treatment guidelines (“guideline alerts”) or those made to reduce cost (“cost alerts”). A recommendation was a success if the change in medication therapy was noted in claims data within 120 days. The success rates between the two interventions were compared using Chi square. Main Results: The overall success rate was 20.9% (10,947/52,409). For guideline alerts, there was a significant difference in the acceptance of prescription faxes (13.1%) versus informational faxes (9.9%) (P <0.001). Prescription faxes recommending the addition of an ACE inhibitor for hypertension in diabetic patients was significantly higher compared to informational faxes in females over 60 years old (14.8% vs. 10.00%, P <0.001) and all males (13.2% vs. 9.9%, P <0.001). For cost alerts, there was a statistically significant difference in the acceptance of prescription faxes (49.7%) versus informational faxes (37.7%) (P <0.001). Conclusion: Prescription faxes produce higher rates of acceptance for guideline and cost recommendations. While both prescription and informational faxes could be used to further improve the communication between prescribers and pharmacists that provide MTM services, providers may prefer specific prescription faxes.