Pharmacy Technicians and Medication Therapy Management

Abstract

Background: Although cognitive services have become more widely accepted among pharmacists since Medicare Part D provided a benefit to allow for billing of services, not all pharmacists have incorporated services into their practices. Objective: To identify opportunities for pharmacy technicians to aid pharmacists in medication therapy management (MTM). Methods: Articles were identified through searches of MEDLINE/PubMed (1950–July 2008) and review of MTM resources from the American Pharmacists Association. Articles describing medication therapy management and pharmacy technicians were included. Results: As the pharmacy profession embraces extensive patient counseling in the form of MTM, many aspects of the practice of pharmacy need to evolve to ensure MTM program success. Time constraints limit the ability of pharmacists to handle administrative tasks and represent a major barrier to MTM program implementation. Technicians can do some of the work to reduce this barrier. With proper training, technicians can assist pharmacists in the tasks that do not require the professional judgment of a pharmacist, freeing pharmacists to focus on clinical activities and enabling an MTM program to be more sustainable. For example, technicians can help in areas such as scheduling and patient reminders through phone calls. Medication histories and health histories can also be documented by technicians, as can chart construction, filing, and the documentation of release forms and health histories. Additional steps can be taken to further increase efficiency in the MTM process and include creation of a flow map and cross training of all pharmacy staff. Conclusions: Through developing new roles, technicians can help pharmacists provide pharmaceutical care and develop a successful MTM program.