Medication therapy management services: definitions and outcomes.

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Pharmacy Practice
• Health Policy

Background:

• Medicare Part D mandates Medication Therapy Management Services (MTMS) to enhance medication use and patient outcomes.
• The diversity in MTMS goals and program structures complicates program assessment and evaluation.
• Existing definitions differentiate MTMS from other pharmacy services, emphasizing medication focus and provider collaboration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review definitions of MTMS from various stakeholders.
• To summarize and evaluate outcomes of MTMS relevant to Medicare Part D and Medicaid programs.
• To identify gaps in current research and suggest future study directions.

Main Methods:

• A MEDLINE search was conducted for articles published after 2000 using terms 'medication therapy management' and 'medication management'.
• Included studies evaluated community-based MTMS outcomes, irrespective of reimbursement source.
• Seven publications on four MTMS and three surveys on multiple MTMS were identified and analyzed.

Main Results:

• Limited outcome data is currently available for MTMS.
• Evaluations of individual MTMS programs are necessary due to program variability.
• Challenges include reimbursement, service justification, and stakeholder acceptance.

Conclusions:

• There is a need for more robust, funded, prospective, controlled studies on MTMS effectiveness.
• Further research should explore various intervention strategies and delivery methods for MTMS.
• Naturalistic studies are required to assess the impact of CMS-approved MTMS programs.