Pharmacist-provided Medication Management in Medicare-ACO Patients Taking Medications Associated With Medication-related Hospitalization or Emergency Visits in the Elderly

Medication Management (MTM)

Medication management is defined as the standard of care that ensures each patient's medications, including prescription, over-the-counter, herbal products, vitamins, and supplements, are individually assessed to determine the following:

• Appropriateness of each medication for the patient
• Effectiveness for the patient's medical conditions
• Safety given the patient's co-morbidities and other medications
• Convenience to be taken by the patient as intended

Medication management services are delivered to an individual patient and are fully integrated with the health care team to achieve coordinated and consistent patient care. Pharmacists provide this service using a standardized method to comprehensively review each patient's medications. This systematic process is designed to identify, prevent, and resolve drug therapy problems and to aid in attainment of a patient's therapy goals. Medication management services include an individualized care plan that tracks progress on the intended goals of therapy with appropriate follow-up to determine actual patient outcomes. Pharmacists aim to emphasize the care experience for patients, achieve better medication-related quality measures, and reduce the cost of care.

Patients who are enrolled in the MTM group will have an initial MTM visit, which will last approximately 60 minutes. In this visit, the patient and the pharmacist will discuss all medications (prescription, over-the-counter, and herbal) that the patient is taking. Medications will be evaluated for indication, efficacy, safety and convenience. The pharmacist and patient and other care team members will participate in shared decision in an effort to optimize patient clinical outcomes and medication experience. Patients will continue to work with their primary care provider and other care team members. Patients will continue to meet with the pharmacist on an individualized basis for 1 year to optimize the patients' medications based on individual needs.