Implementation of medication therapy management services at a tertiary care center in Lebanon

Abstract

Objective: Medication therapy management (MTM) services were officially launched at the Lebanese American University Medical Center (LAUMC) in January 2014. For the first time in Lebanon, physicians had the opportunity to refer patients to pharmacist-provided MTM services. The objectives of this study were to: (1) describe the implementation of the MTM services and (2) report their impact on patients' health and drug costs. Methods: As part of the outpatient clinical pharmacy services at LAUMC, a board certified ambulatory care pharmacy specialist together with the doctor of pharmacy students on ambulatory care rotations offered on a weekly basis, independent MTM services as described by the Core Elements of an MTM Service Model version 2.0. Patients were referred by physicians to the pharmacist and those eligible for MTM services were scheduled for a 20-40 minute face-to-face encounter. For each patient, the pharmacist performed a medication therapy review and created a personal medication record as well as a medication-related action plan. Interventions were recorded and documented in patients' charts. Collected interventions and anonymous patient satisfaction surveys were used to assess the impact of the MTM services. Results: Of the 153 medical charts reviewed, 21% of patients were found eligible for MTM services. Seventy-eight percent of eligible patients successfully scheduled initial MTM visits and subsequent follow-up visits as needed. A total of 140 interventions were documented of which 21% were related to drug therapy indication, 10% to drug efficacy, 10% to drug safety, 8% to patient compliance, and 51% to patient education. Patient satisfaction surveys revealed excellent overall rating of the quality of the services provided. Conclusion: The collected interventions as well as the patient satisfaction survey results highlight the importance of MTM services and the role of the pharmacist in improving patients' compliance, quality of life, and reduction of medications costs.