Objective: To determine the effect of using a technician-driven medication therapy management (MTM) program on quality performance measures for a community pharmacy chain.
Methods: A technician-driven MTM program was incorporated in 35 stores of a regional supermarket pharmacy chain. The overall chain percentage score for the 4 quality measures used in Medicare Part D Star Ratings-proportion of days covered (PDC) for cholesterol, diabetes, renin-angiotensin system antagonists (RASA), and high-risk medication use-was compared pre- and postimplementation of the technician-driven MTM program. Data were collected from Electronic Quality Improvement Platform for Plans and Pharmacies (EQuIPP) platform and t tests were used to analyze 1 year pre- and postimplementation.
Results: The PDC for RASA, high cholesterol medications, and diabetes medications significantly increased pre- to postimplementation for each drug class (P < .001, P = .011, P = .001, respectively). The combined overall mean PDC score for RASA, cholesterol medications, and diabetes medication classes significantly increased by 5.6% from 2015 to 2016 (74.2% vs 79.8%, P < .001); there was also a nonsignificant decrease in high-risk medication use for the entire chain.
Conclusions: This technician-driven MTM program can positively affect pharmacy quality performance and potentially improve patient outcomes.
Keywords: community pharmacy services; medication therapy management; pharmacy technician; program evaluation.