have your own personal fitness Trainer, you can rest assured he’s got your back. MTM Pharmacists, play the same role…only this time, our role is a bit more critical.

What is MTM?

MTM is Medication Therapy Management, a professional service provided by specially trained pharmacists to improve treatment outcomes for individual patients and to promote the safe and effective use of medications. Patients have their own personal primary care physician (PCP), their own personal attorney, their own personal realtor, their own personal fitness trainer,and the list goes on. Question is, why not their own board certified personal Medication Therapy Pharmacist?

We know that inappropriate medication use costs our healthcare system about $290 billion each year. We know that as the population ages, health conditions most times deteriorate. Prescription medications are therefore necessary to properly manage health. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports that 90 million people (nearly half our adult population) lack health literacy skills needed to understand and act on health information. If most patients do not have the appropriate health literacy, they will have worse adherence, more inappropriate medications, seek less preventive care and ultimately use more hospital care, costing the healthcare system more money.

MTM Pharmacists are committed to providing high-quality and cost-effective healthcare to every patient. Being board certified is an attestation that a pharmacist is committed to performing at the highest professional level in the industry. MTM Pharmacists have advanced training and specialize in disease state management and preventive care to provide the best care possible to every patient.

What do MTM Pharmacists Offer?

You may say your doctors and nurses are already checking your medications and wondering why you need a personal MTM Pharmacist. The truth is, MTM Pharmacists use a different tool when focusing on medication-related problems. We get to the bottom of medication related problems. Whereas a physician or nurse might see a new diagnosis of dry eyes and mouth, we see a patient on duplicate anticholinergic drugs, we see increased bleeding in a patient taking warfarin and self-treating with ginkgo-biloba, and we see harmful increase in blood pressure in a patient taking anti-hypertensive drugs and using over-the-counter pseudoephedrine (Sudafed), I think you see the point here.

MTM Pharmacists consider patients a partner in their own healthcare. When you as a patient have a personal MTM Pharmacist, you will be well involved and well informed in the treatment decision making process. You will be an important partner in setting your therapy goals and be accountable for adhering to treatment.

We empower our patients to accept a share of the responsibility for their own care. We provide patient education and counsel on medication adherence tools that can help develop life-long self-care skills. We give patients the tools, techniques and resources to help them better manage their health. We provide resources to improve health-related behaviors and clinical outcomes. We set goals and develop plans of action and identify potential obstacles that may interfere with achieving goals. We make it our business for patients and their families to understand how important they are to the success of the care they receive. We collaborate with your primary care physician and other healthcare practitioners to achieve the best possible outcomes from your prescribed therapy. We supplement and facilitate what prescribing practitioners already do, working with them to develop an individualized plan to meet a patient’s goals and solve any drug therapy problems that are present. We follow-up with you to ensure that specific goals of therapy are met and stand by your side every step of the way.

I believe every patient deserves to have their own personal MTM Pharmacist and have access to help 24/7. Every patient deserves to spend less time worrying about their medications and more time with those they love. Every patient deserves to have their insurance provider cover this type of service. If your health insurance provider does not currently cover MTM services, demand that it is added. Tell your congress representative today and demand they support and co-sponsor bill that will recognize pharmacists as healthcare providers and valued members of the healthcare team.

About the Author

Dr. Christina Wachuku is the Founder/Owner of MediFixx Health, LLC. She’s a Board Certified Ambulatory Care Clinical Specialist, and places strong emphasis on Medication Therapy Management services as the ultimate preventive healthcare practice.

References
http://www.rxeconsult.com/healthcare-articles/Why-You-Need-a-Personal-MTM-Pharmacist-659/