Stimulating comprehensive medication reviews among Medicare Part D beneficiaries

To assess the impact of a patient engagement intervention utilizing the Medication User Self-Evaluation (MUSE) tool on the completion percentage of comprehensive medication reviews (CMRs) among Medicare Part D beneficiaries.

A case-control study.

Beneficiaries from 2 Medicare Part D plans were randomly assigned to 3 study arms (1 control arm plus 2 intervention arms for 2011 and 2012, respectively). Each beneficiary who participated in the MUSE intervention met 3 inclusion criteria and was matched with a single control group beneficiary based on: gender; age (within 5-year interval); plan type (ie, Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan); number of unique prescriptions; pharmacy medication therapy management (MTM) training status; and time period (2011, 2012). The outcome of interest was whether or not the beneficiary received a CMR in the 6 months following the index date. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were used to compare CMR percentages over time and between MUSE intervention groups. This study used MTM service claims data.

The final sample of 1015 beneficiaries received MUSE intervention, of which 1007 were successfully matched to a control beneficiary. The estimated odds of having a CMR among those who received the MUSE intervention were 2 times that of their counterparts (P = .0048) across both study years.

Given the strong evidence found for a positive association between participation in a CMR and the MUSE intervention, Part D plans could use the MUSE to engage targeted beneficiaries in using pharmacist-provided MTM services.