Pharmacists’ knowledge and attitudes toward medication therapy management service and the associated challenges and barriers for its implementation

BackgroundThe literature demonstrated a positive impact of medication therapy management (MTM) services provided by the pharmacists to improve the overall health outcomes. Nevertheless, limited data is available with regard to MTM service implementation by community pharmacists and its associated factors in Jordan.ObjectiveTo evaluate community pharmacists’ knowledge, attitude and practice of MTM service and to explore the challenges and barriers for its implementation.MethodsThe present cross-sectional study utilized a validated online survey which was filled by community pharmacists in different areas across Jordan. In addition to the socio-demographic variables, the study questionnaire evaluated pharmacists’ knowledge and attitudes towards MTM service, extent of MTM implementation and its associated challenges and barriers.ResultsA total of 250 pharmacists completed the survey. The study pharmacists showed moderate knowledge level (median of the total knowledge score = 6 (4–7) out of 10) and positive attitude (median of the attitude score was 23 (19–26) out of 30) towards MTM services. The participating pharmacists recognized performing or obtaining necessary assessments of patient’s health status as the most frequently provided MTM service (84.8%), while the least one was documenting the care delivered and communicating essential information to other healthcare providers (62%). Furthermore, collecting patient-related information was the most commonly recognized challenge to MTM service provision (36.8%), followed by referring the patient to a physician or consultant (36%) and collaboration with them (35.6%). The most reported barrier was negative physician attitudes (40.4%), followed by the lack of training on MTM provision (38.4%), and lack of adequate support staff (37.2%).ConclusionEfforts are needed to enhance collaboration between pharmacists and other health care professional, to develop documentation systems that would preserve and facilitate access to patient information, and to implement appropriate training programs which aim to overcome the challenges and barriers for MTM implementation.     

药物治疗管理在结直肠肿瘤病人围手术期营养支持治疗中的实践

目的评价临床药师运用药物治疗管理参与结直肠肿瘤病人围手术期营养支持治疗的效果,探索临床药师如何运用药物治疗管理为结直肠肿瘤病人围手术期提供更满意的药学服务。方法选取 2019年 1月至 2020年 3月黄山市人民医院收治的 100例行结直肠癌根治术的病人,采用随机数字表法分为对照组和试验组,各 50例。对照组由临床医师和护士负责病人的围手术期营养治疗管理,试验组由临床药师应用药物治疗管理对病人围手术期营养治疗进行干预。比较两组病人术后营养状况,临床疗效,治疗依从性和不良反应发生率。结果与对照组相比,试验组病人术后第 7天营养指标血红蛋白,白蛋白、黄醇结合蛋白水平提高,炎症指标 C反应蛋白水平降低( P<0.05);术后 7d营养风险发生率试验组( 8/50,16%)低于对照组( 18/视50,36%)(P<0.05);试验组术后出现并发症发生率( 7/50,14%)和药物不良反应发生率(4/50,8%)低于对照组( 22/50,44%)(15/ 50,30%)(P<0.05);治疗依从性良好率试验组( 42/50,84%)优于对照组( 18/50,36%)(P<0.05);住院天数试验组( 18.22±4.71)d少于对照组( 22.58±8.45)d(P<0.05)。结论药物治疗管理在围手术期病人营养支持治疗中的应用,可以有效改善病人围手术期营养情况,提高用药依从性,降低药物不良反应发生率,促进病人术后早期康复。     

Evaluation of a modified and abbreviated scale for assessing chronic illness care for medication therapy management practice

BackgroundThe central goals of MTM align with those of the Chronic Care Model (CCM). However, reliable and valid assessments are needed to estimate the extent to which components of MTM care delivery are consistent with the CCM. The Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (ACIC) is a 34-item scale for administration in primary care offices to estimate the extent to which chronic care delivery aligns with the six elements of the CCM. The ACIC appears to be responsive for care delivery interventions aimed at improving various chronic illnesses. However, the potential value of the ACIC as a measure for evaluating MTM delivery is unknown.ObjectiveA modified and abbreviated version of the ACIC could be a useful evaluation tool for pharmacist-provided medication therapy management (MTM). The objective of this study was to assess the construct and criterion-related validity, and internal consistency, of the abbreviated (12-item) “MTM ACIC.”MethodsThe abbreviated MTM ACIC was administered to pharmacists employed at 27,560 community pharmacies. Construct validity and internal consistency were estimated through principal components analysis, item-to-total correlations, and Cronbach's alpha estimate of internal consistency. To assess criterion-related validity, a univariate negative binomial model estimated the association between ACIC scores and pharmacy-level MTM completion rates.ResultsA one-component model accounted for 64% of the variance, and Cronbach's alpha was 0.95. Scores on the abbreviated MTM ACIC were associated with MTM completion rates (rate ratio: 1.02; 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.03).ConclusionThe abbreviated MTM ACIC exhibited acceptable construct and criterion-related validity and internal consistency and could serve as a valuable tool for evaluating chronic illness care within the MTM setting.     

Historical trend of racial and ethnic disparities in meeting Medicare medication therapy management eligibility in non-Medicare population

BackgroundPrior research examining racial and ethnic disparities in meeting Medicare medication therapy management (MTM) eligibility criteria among the non-Medicare population suggests minorities have lower likelihood of being eligible than non-Hispanic Whites (Whites). However, such research has not examined trends in disparities and whether these disparities may be expected to decrease over time based on historical data.ObjectivesTo examine trends in MTM eligibility disparities among the non-Medicare population from 1996–1997 to 2009–2010.MethodsThis retrospective observational analysis used Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data from the two study periods. The MTM eligibility criteria used by health insurance plans in 2008 and 2010 were analyzed. Trends in disparities were examined by including interaction terms between dummy variables for 2009–2010 and non-Hispanic Blacks (Blacks)/Hispanics in a logistic regression. Interaction effects were estimated on both the multiplicative and additive terms. Main and sensitivity analyses were conducted to represent the ranges of the Medicare MTM eligibility thresholds used by health insurance plans.ResultsAccording to the main analysis, Blacks and Hispanics were less likely to be eligible than Whites for both sets of eligibility criteria in 1996–1997 and in 2009–2010. Trend analysis for both sets of criteria found that on the multiplicative term, there were generally no significant changes in disparities between Whites and Blacks/Hispanics from 1996–1997 to 2009–2010. Interaction on the additive term found evidence that disparities between Whites and Blacks/Hispanics may have increased from 1996–1997 to 2009–2010 (e.g., in the main analysis between Whites and Hispanics for 2010 eligibility criteria: difference in odds = −0.03, 95% CI: [−0.03]–[−0.02]).ConclusionsRacial and ethnic minorities in the non-Medicare population experience persistent and often increasing disparities in meeting MTM eligibility criteria. Drug benefit plans should take caution when using elements of Medicare MTM eligibility criteria.     

临床药师开展脑血管病抗栓药物治疗管理服务的实践与探讨

目的：探讨临床药师对脑血管病患者开展药物治疗管理服务的模式和范畴。方法：2018年10月-2019年8月,临床药师通过对脑血管病医师-药师联合抗栓门诊和住院专科会诊的方式,为脑血管病门诊和住院患者提供抗栓药物治疗管理服务（MTMs）。服务内容包括抗栓药物的选择与指导、抗栓时机与疗程的决策、出血不良事件与血栓矛盾的平衡管理、药物相互作用的识别与处理等。结果：共计为203例门诊和12例住院患者提供291次和18次MTMs。门诊患者药物治疗问题前3位是依从性差（25.43%）、药物不良事件（17.87%）和剂量太低或者剂量太高（15.81%）,住院患者药物治疗问题前3位是药物不良事件（38.89%）、抗栓疗效与安全性监测（22.22%）、特殊人群抗栓方案的制定（16.67%）。结论：本研究显示,针对脑血管病患者开展抗栓MTMs,门诊患者需要重点关注依从性、药物不良事件和用法用量,住院患者需要重点关注药物不良事件、抗栓疗效监测和特殊人群用药。开展抗栓MTMs可以作为临床药学工作的良好切入点,能够体现临床药师的专业价值。     

Artificial intelligence in pharmacy practice: Attitude and willingness of the community pharmacists and the barriers for its implementation

BackgroundArtificial intelligence (AI) is the capacity of machines to perform tasks that ordinarily require human intelligence. AI can be utilized in various pharmaceutical applications with less time and cost.ObjectivesTo evaluate community pharmacists’ willingness and attitudes towards the adoption of AI technology at pharmacy settings, and the barriers that hinder AI implementation.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted among community pharmacists in Jordan using an online-based questionnaire. In addition to socio-demographics, the survey assessed pharmacists’ willingness, attitudes, and barriers to AI adoption in pharmacy. Binary logistic regression was conducted to find the variables that are independently associated with willingness and attitude towards AI implementation.ResultsThe present study enrolled 401 pharmacist participants. The median age was 30 (29–33) years. Most of the pharmacists were females (66.6%), had bachelor’s degree of pharmacy (56.1%), had low-income (54.6%), and had one to five years of experience (35.9%). The pharmacists showed good willingness and attitude towards AI implementation at pharmacy (n = 401). The most common barriers to AI were lack of AI-related software and hardware (79.2%), the need for human supervision (76.4%), and the high running cost of AI (74.6%). Longer weekly working hours (attitude: OR = 1.072, 95% C.I (1.040–1.104), P < 0.001, willingness: OR = 1.069, 95% Cl. 1.039–1.009, P-value = 0.011), and higher knowledge of AI applications (attitude: OR = 1.697, 95%Cl (1.327–2.170), willingness: OR = 1.790, 95%Cl. (1.396–2.297), P-value < 0.001 for both) were significantly associated with better willingness and attitude towards AI, whereas greater years of experience (OR = 20.859, 95% Cl (5.241–83.017), P-value < 0.001) were associated with higher willingness. In contrast, pharmacists with high income (OR = 0.382, 95% Cl. (0.183–0.795), P-value = 0.010), and those with<10 visitors (OR = 0.172, 95% Cl. (0.035–0.838), P-value = 0.029) or 31–50 visitors daily (OR = 0.392, 95% Cl. (0.162–0.944), P-value = 0.037) had less willingness to adopt AI.ConclusionsDespite the pharmacists' positive willingness and attitudes toward AI, several barriers were identified, highlighting the importance of providing educational and training programs to improve pharmacists' knowledge of AI, as well as ensuring adequate funding support to overcome the issue of AI high operating costs.     

基于药物治疗管理的慢性阻塞性肺疾病患者咳喘药学门诊服务实践

目的:探索门诊慢性阻塞性肺疾病(chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD)患者规范化药物治疗管理(medication therapy management, MTM)服务模式,观察基于MTM的咳喘药学门诊的应用效果。方法:依托MTM服务理念,建立咳喘药学门诊服务流程。采用自身对照法,观察108例使用吸入剂治疗的COPD患者,接受咳喘药学门诊服务干预前、干预3个月、干预6个月后,疾病控制评估CAT(COPD assessment test)问卷及改良版英国医学研究会呼吸困难量表(modified British medical research council, mMRC)问卷、服药依从性、药品不良反应发生率、患者满意度等指标变化情况,评价咳喘药学门诊服务的效果。结果:我院形成了以专科药师干预为主的动态、全程、闭环咳喘药学门诊服务新模式。对比咳喘药学门诊干预前与干预后3个月、6个月,患者CAT评分[(21.74±4.25)vs.(16.64±4.51)vs.(12.72±4.36)]及mMRC评分[(2.69±0.51)vs.(2.16±0...     

基于国内外数据库药物治疗管理研究的文献计量学分析

目的：通过文献计量学方法分析国内外药物治疗管理（medication therapy management，MTM）发展趋势、研究现状与热点，为医疗机构开展个体化药学服务提供参考。方法：采用标题字段关键词检索Web of Science核心数据库、万方、知网、维普数据库收录的药物治疗管理研究相关文献，检索范围2008-2018年，分别从出版年份及文献类型文献概况、国家和地区、机构和作者、被引情况、研究方向等方面展开分析。结果：基于Web of Science核心数据库，全球药物治疗管理研究相关文献近十年共321篇，年度发表文献量较为平稳，美国发文量最多，且以高校发文为主，总体处于领先地位，中国台湾发表4篇；基于万方、知网、维普数据库研究文献，经筛重整理，国内药物治疗研究文献近十年共70篇，发表文献量呈指数上升趋势，全国以医疗机构发文为主，北京发文量最多。国内外学者集中在MTM模式研究、疾病相关MTM服务研究等研究方向，国外较国内MTM研究领域内容较为具体详实，在成本效益经济学研究、教育培训应用等方向有更多研究文献发表。结论：药物治疗管理研究逐年加强，美国研究总体处于领先地位，国内研究预计进入井喷期，研究方向需多样化并需加强学术交流。     

某院风湿免疫科以药师为主导的患者慢性疾病药物治疗管理模式的建立与实践

目的：探讨药师为风湿免疫疾病患者提供慢性疾病药物治疗管理（medication therapy management,MTM）的模式。方法：以某院风湿免疫科中类风湿性关节炎、系统性红斑狼疮及强直性脊柱炎患者为研究对象,收集患者200例,随机分成药学干预组和对照组,对药学干预组实施MTM。将2组患者入院初期、出院后1个月、出院后3个月、出院后6个月的临床评价指标、患者依从性评分、药学干预期内再入院率和不良反应发生率进行2组间的比较,观察MTM的实施效果。结果：与对照组相比,临床疗效指标在出院后3个月、6个月有更好的改善,差异具有显著性（P<0.05）;患者依从性在出院后3个月、6个月有较高的评分,差异具有显著性（P<0.05）;药学干预组的再入院发生事件略有下降,但差异无显著性;出院后6个月药学干预组ADR发生率明显低于对照组,差异具有显著性（P<0.05）。结论：通过对风湿免疫患者实施MTM,可以达到提高药学服务质量和临床疗效的目的。