Collaborative medication management in a team-based primary care practice: an explanatory conceptual framework

Abstract

Background: In ambulatory practice many different health care professionals are involved in the drug use process. The roles and functions of these individuals can be difficult to define, because of a lack of a common ground for discussion. Deliberating the topic is important for developing a team approach to medication management.

Objective: To describe a conceptual framework to create a platform that can be used by different health care providers to identify, define, and discuss roles and responsibilities in collaborative medication management.

Methods: Authors reviewed and reflected upon their experiences as practitioners in implementing a pharmaceutical care-based consulting practice within a family medicine practice setting. Key roles and responsibilities relative to collaborative management of medications were identified and described.

Results: A conceptual framework subsequently developed, the Team Approach to Medication Management, consists of 3 primary components referred to as medication-related practices (medication prescribing, medication taking, and medication dispensing). Each of these primary practices is supported by a team of health care professionals who have supportive roles and responsibilities. In the Team Approach to Medication Management framework, the patient's medication-taking practice holds a central and key position within a collaborative approach to medication management.

Conclusions: The proposed Team Approach to Medication Management framework can be used to guide discussions and decisions among the different health care providers working in primary care to define both direct and indirect roles that health care practitioners and patients play in collaborative medication management.