An Innovations Exchange Learning Community

Image of two pharmacists reading a chart.

According to an AHRQ report, medication therapy management (MTM) services are intended to address issues of polypharmacy, preventable adverse drug events, medication adherence, and medication misuse. In line with this report, the AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange has identified MTM as a high-priority area for further research.

As defined by the American Pharmacists Association(link is external), “Medication therapy management is a service or group of services that optimize therapeutic outcomes for individual patients. Medication therapy management services include medication therapy reviews, pharmacotherapy consults, anticoagulation management, immunizations, health and wellness programs, and many other clinical services. Pharmacists provide medication therapy management to help patients get the best benefits from their medications by actively managing drug therapy and by identifying, preventing, and resolving medication-related problems.”

Medication Therapy Management Learning Community (MTM LC) Intervention

The MTM LC specifically explores inter-professional care in ambulatory care settings, particularly within clinics that serve at-risk patients with both chronic conditions and socioeconomic complexity. Frequently, these populations face challenges in understanding how to take their medications appropriately and why it is important to be actively engaged in the self-management of their health conditions. The MTM LC addresses this challenge by incorporating pharmacists within the primary care team.

The MTM LC builds upon the work of the MyRx innovation, which consists of a bundle of MTM interventions that were independently tested using comparative effectiveness research (CER) methodology. In collaboration with Texas Southern University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, three affiliated clinics of the Spring Branch Federally qualified health center (FQHC) in Houston, Texas serve as pilot sites for adapting the MyRx innovation and incorporating pharmacists within the primary care team.

Learning Community Aims

Aim #1: Pilot test the team-based Medication Therapy Management innovation in three FQHC-affiliated community-based clinics.

Aim #2: Improve medication adherence among patients with uncontrolled diabetes treated in ambulatory care settings.

Aim #3: Prevent and reduce potential medication-related errors prior to discharge from clinic visits.

Aim #4: Leverage the expertise of LC members to enhance lessons learned about the pilot.

To meet these aims, the AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange is working with the Texas Southern University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and the Spring Branch Community Health Center (SBCHC). The MTM LC has a national representation which includes seventeen primary care and pharmaceutical sites working collaboratively to implement the adapted MyRx innovation. Participants receive technical assistance and support from nationally recognized experts.

Learning Community Progress

In September 2015, the Innovations Exchange made available a MTM Learning Community Update that describes accomplishments and preliminary outcomes at the end of the first year.