Implementation of technician-driven medication therapy management program in community pharmacies

Abstract

Objectives: Pharmacists have reported barriers in implementing medication therapy management (MTM) services into community pharmacy workflow. A community pharmacy grocery chain created an MTM training program with detailed workflow manual and templates intended as a turnkey operation for MTM implementation. To expand the use of this program, 20 community pharmacies were trained in January 2017. The objective of this study was to evaluate the adoption or actual implementation of the program's workflow and to determine barriers to implementation.

Setting: Pharmacists and technicians who participated in the program were from 20 community pharmacies, including a chain pharmacy, multiple-independent pharmacies, and single-independent pharmacies, in Arkansas.

Practice innovation: The training program used a standardized process with documentation templates to implement a technician-driven workflow. The program required 1 pharmacist and 1 technician per pharmacy to attend an 8-hour live training session.

Evaluation: Qualitative cross-sectional study using semistructured interviews with pharmacists and technicians 1 year after training session. One pharmacist and 1 technician from 12 pharmacies were invited. The interview guide included questions on how the program was implemented at their respective pharmacies and barriers to implementing the program. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, and transcripts were coded for common themes.

Results: Seven pharmacists and 6 pharmacy technicians agreed to participate. The program was implemented without difficulty in all 7 pharmacies. Pharmacists and technicians reported that the program provided streamlined MTM workflow, expanded technicians' role, and improved confidence in providing services. Barriers to providing MTM services, despite the new workflow, included competing priorities and staffing.

Conclusion: The training program resulted in a variety of community pharmacies to successfully implement MTM services. Future studies should further explore sustainability and impact on financial and patient outcomes.