Report Details Inner Workings Of Growing MTM Clinic

Main Category: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Article Date: 08 May 2008 - 15:00 PDT

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Clinicians working in an outpatient pharmacy clinic in Chicago are hoping to build relationships with patients that will lead to improved continuity of care, according to a report in the May 1 edition of American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. The report describes the patient care center as a successful, growing program with goals of improving medication access and adherence, continuity of care and patient education.

The mission of the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago (UIMCC) outpatient pharmacy clinic is to help patients with multiple chronic conditions manage their drug therapies to improve their health and decrease drug-related problems. Many UIMCC patients are indigent and qualify for Medicare benefits.

The MTM patient care model used by the referral-based clinic is "intensive and comprehensive," according to the report. Patients are referred to the clinic from UIMCC healthcare professionals using admission criteria that include difficulty in self-managing medications and adhering to long-term medication regimens. Currently, the clinic serves up to 150 patients per year, up from about 30 patients in 2001. Between nine and 13 patient visits are scheduled each day. The clinic, which operates during business hours on weekdays, generates about 90 prescriptions a day for the outpatient pharmacy.

During a normal day, a minimum of two MTM pharmacists and one pharmacy technician staff the clinic. Pharmacists at the clinic also work as faculty members at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and have research and teaching responsibilities. Three of the five pharmacists also work at other clinics.

Click here to read the full report.

American Society of Health-System Pharmacists