CPF FUNDED GRANT DETAILS

Physician referrals for community pharmacists to perform Medication Therapy Management MTM would greatly facilitate reaching patients who need these services. Earlier physician interviews identified barriers and facilitators for physician-pharmacist collaboration Chui et al, 2014, Maxwell, 2013. To move forward these collaborations, we need to refine tools to enhance the feasibility of physician MTM referrals to community pharmacists who work in separate settings. The objective of this feasibility study is to conduct a rapid cycle evaluation with four physicians in different practices who have agreed to refer patients to community pharmacists for MTM services. Specific aims are to continuously improve the structure and resources for these and future additional sites: a brochures based on physician perceptions of desiredintended outcomes to increase their ability to foster uptake and follow-through of patients needing MTM services, b mechanisms to communicate key patient information to pharmacists diagnoses, lab values, c practice agreements and tools needed for billing and reimbursement, d means for two-way communication for referral and follow-up on patient medication plans. Second, this study will conduct qualitative interviews to identify participating physician, pharmacist and patient perceptions of the value and costs of receiving the MTM services via physician referrals. Lastly, the quality of pharmacist recommended MTM changes in patients regimens will be assessed.