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17-City Educational Tour Trains Pharmacists to Offer Medication Therapy Management (MTM) to Medicare Part D Patients
04/12/2007
DUBLIN, Ohio, April 12, 2007 – As an increasing number of pharmacies search for ways to increase revenue and improve the quality of care they offer patients, many community pharmacists are interested in learning more about Medication Therapy Management (MTM) – a suite of services that all Medicare Part D plan sponsors must now offer to select Part D beneficiaries.
That’s why Cardinal Health, Leader® pharmacies, Medicine Shoppe®pharmacies, Medicap Pharmacy® stores and United Drugs have teamed up to offer Medication Therapy Management in Community Pharmacy, a 17-city educational tour developed and taught by pharmacists from The University of Arizona College of Pharmacy. The tour will travel from Anaheim, Calif. to Newark, NJ this spring to teach more than 2,000 community pharmacists how to increase revenue while helping Medicare Part D patients better understand their medications, reduce healthcare costs and reduce adverse drug reactions. Admission is open to independent pharmacists and pharmacy students, free of charge.
“MTM is a growing area of interest for many pharmacists, because it can help them increase overall revenue while also improving the quality of care they offer patients,” said Glenn Hall, R.Ph., vice president of marketing, managed care and general manager, Leader® pharmacies for Cardinal Health. “Many community pharmacists just need training to learn how to incorporate these services into their daily workflow, how to get reimbursed for providing these services to Medicare Part D patients, and how to deliver these services in a way that complies with federal guidelines.”
The 2003 Medicare reform law requires all Medicare Part D plan sponsors to offer MTM services to beneficiaries who manage multiple chronic diseases, have multiple Part D-covered prescriptions and those likely to incur annual costs of at least $4,000 for Part D-covered drugs. The plan also requires Part D plan sponsors to reimburse pharmacists for offering these services to eligible patients.
Hall explained that MTM services are best delivered to Medicare Part D patients by a community pharmacy where they get their prescriptions filled, from a pharmacist with whom they have an ongoing relationship. By improving communication among physicians, patients and pharmacists, MTM services aim to increase medication compliance and reduce the frequency of adverse drug events.
The Medication Therapy Management in Community Pharmacy tour instructors are from the Medication Management Center, a call center established in The University of Arizona’s College of Pharmacy in 2006 to provide specialized patient counseling services to Medicare Part D beneficiaries. The training sessions will teach pharmacists how to:
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Make sure patients understand their medical conditions and the medicine they take to treat those conditions.
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Assist patients with understanding insurance company formularies and recommend possible changes in medications that can lead to cost savings.
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Review medications for possible adverse interactions and unnecessary/duplicate therapies.
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Implement changes in retail pharmacy workflow needed to incorporate MTM services into daily operations.
“We launched the MTM tour just last week and have received such a positive response,” said Bruce Semingson, R.Ph., chief executive officer of United Drugs, a cooperative of over 1,000 independent pharmacies. “Pharmacists who attend are realizing that MTM can be a true win-win opportunity to increase revenue while offering better, more personalized care to patients.”
“Many of our pharmacists already are providing MTM counseling sessions and seeing tremendous improvements to their patients’ health,” said Bill Rampy, senior vice president of Franchise Operations for Medicine Shoppe International, Inc. “This tour aligns well with our ongoing efforts to encourage even more of our Medicine Shoppe and Medicap Pharmacy franchisees to adopt MTM services.”
Medication Therapy Management in Community Pharmacy: Program Dates and Locations
Medication Therapy Management in Community Practice seminar locations and dates are as follows:
| March 28: | Anaheim, |
May 2: | Knoxville, |
| March 29: | Los Angeles | May 3: | Columbus, |
| April 4: | Atlanta | May 16: | Queens, |
| April 5: | Baton Rouge, |
May 17: | Newark, |
| April 18: | Dallas | May 22: | Indianapolis |
| April 12: | Denver | May 23: | Detroit |
| April 19: | Kansas City, |
May 24: | Chicago |
| April 25: | Jacksonville, |
May 30: | Seattle |
| April 26: | Charlotte, |
May 31: | Denver |
These sessions are open (and free of charge) to independent pharmacists and pharmacy students, who can register to attend the remaining CE sessions by visiting https://www.pharmacy.arizona.edu/mtm/index.html.
About Cardinal Health
Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) is a $80 billion, global company serving the health-care industry with products and services that help hospitals, physician offices and pharmacies reduce costs, improve safety, productivity and profitability, and deliver better care to patients. With a focus on making supply chains more efficient, reducing hospital-acquired infections and breaking the cycle of harmful medication errors, Cardinal Health develops market-leading technologies, including Alaris® IV pumps, Pyxis® automated dispensing systems, MedMined® data mining software and the CareFusion® patient identification system. The company also manufactures medical and surgical products and is one of the largest distributors of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies worldwide. Ranked No. 19 on the Fortune 500 and No. 1 in its sector on Fortune's ranking of Most Admired firms, Cardinal Health employs more than 40,000 people on five continents. More information about the company may be found at www.cardinalhealth.com.
About Medicine Shoppe International, Inc.
Medicine Shoppe International, Inc., www.medicineshoppe.com, a Cardinal Health Company, is the largest franchisor of independent community pharmacies in the U.S. In 2003, Medicine Shoppe International acquired Medicap Pharmacies Incorporated www.medicap.com, which franchises independent community pharmacies in the U.S. under the trade name Medicap Pharmacy®. Medicine Shoppe® and Medicap Pharmacy® locations are distinguished for their commitment to providing expert, personalized healthcare. There are nearly 1,000 domestic Medicine Shoppe® pharmacies and Medicap Pharmacy® locations and more than 400 pharmacies.
About United Drugs
United Drugs is a pharmacy cooperative that provides industry leadership, operating expertise, third party contracting and buying services to independently-owned pharmacies throughout the nation.
