October 5, 2010

Integrating Comprehensive Medication Management to Optimize Patient Outcomes

The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC) developed the resource as a guide for payers and provider organizations interested in offering medication management services in a patient-centered medical home (PCMH).  PCPCC recommended that comprehensive medication management and the inclusion of pharmacy professionals on the team are key factors in ensuring that the PCMH maximizes the benefits of medications and avoides drug therapy problems. Comprehensive medication management—actually a standard of care—features an individualized care plan that ensures a holistic safety and efficacy assessment of every prescription or non-prescription compound, plant, or mineral a patient uses to prevent, treat, or mitigate a real or imagined health condition. Implementing the strategy requires a team approach to ensure coordination among pharmacists and medication therapy practitioners and the other patient-centered medical home team members.