Evaluation of a Pharmacist-Led Telephonic Medication Therapy Management Program in Rural Arizona: Implications for Community Health Practice

David R. Axon, Jim Kloster, Becka Eckert, Sonia Morales, Sally Riggs, Aminata Kilungo, John Ehiri, Megan Grieser, Tenneh Turner-Warren, Teresa Aseret-Manygoats, Jennifer M. Bingham, Nicole Scovis, Terri Warholak

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study evaluated a pharmacist-led telephonic Medication Therapy Management (MTM) program for rural patients in Arizona with poor access to healthcare services. A pharmacist provided telephonic MTM services to eligible adult patients living in rural Arizona communities with a diagnosis of diabetes and/or hypertension. Data were collected and summarized descriptively for demographic and health conditions, clinical values, and medication-related problems (MRPs) at the initial consultation, and follow-up data collected at 1 and 3 months. A total of 33 patients had baseline and one-month follow-up data, while 15 patients also had three-month follow-up data. At the initial consultation, the following MRPs were identified: medication adherence issues, dose-related concerns, adverse drug events (ADE), high-risk medications, and therapeutic duplications. Recommendations were made for patients to have the influenza, herpes zoster, and pneumonia vaccines; and to initiate a statin, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, angiotensin receptor blocker, beta-blocker, and/or rescue inhaler. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that while pharmacists can identify and make clinical recommendations to patients, the value of these interventions is not fully realized due to recommendations not being implemented and difficulties with patient follow-up, which may have been due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional efforts to address these shortcomings are therefore required.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)243-252
Number of pages10
JournalClinics and Practice
Volume12
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2022

Keywords

  • medication therapy management
  • pharmacist
  • rural health
  • telehealth

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

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