Capitalizing on Opportunities for Reaching Patients: Utilization of Providers in Delivering Medication Therapy Management (MTM) Services

Abstract

Specific Aims: The specific aim of the project is the study the impact of connecting with primary care providers of eligible patients to complete MTM services though pharmacist-delivered CMRs. Our primary working hypothesis is that provider engagement though the Provider Outreach Program (POP) will allow more patients to receive MTM services than the standard MTM process. Methods: This study used a descriptive, retrospective design. Inclusion criteria for this study consisted of patients enrolled in the Provider Outreach Program. Beneficiaries of the program were the patients with two or more chronic conditions and taking multiple prescription medications eligible to receive MTM services as part of their Medicare Part D or individual prescription coverage. Since this study will be from 21 states and over a period of 4.75 months the estimated sample size was calculated to be roughly 53,000. The independent variable is the Provider Outreach Program (POP). The POP targets patients that the standard MTM process is unable to reach by directly contacting providers to increase the number of patients who benefit from MTM services. Demographics for all study participants consist of Medicare qualifying patients (65 years or older, disability, or end-stage renal disease). Descriptive variables will be participating state, total faxes sent, medication list received, POP CMRs completed, total outbound calls, standard CMRs completed, and reasons for denial of communication. The descriptive variables were analyzed by calculating percentages and totals for continuous variables (total faxes sent, medication lists received, POP CMRs completed, standard CMRs completed, and total outbound calls). Main Results: Of the total 52,170 faxes sent, 9,043 medication lists were received (17.9%) from PCPs. There was a 3.8-fold difference in successful CMR completion rates between the POP (16.4%) and the standard MTM program (4.3%). Conclusions: The POP can be utilized as a method to strengthen the outcomes of the standard process to increase the number of patients who benefit from MTM services.