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In IBD, Medication Therapy Management Is Effective
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Medication therapy management (MTM) for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can be an effective tool in relieving the disease management burden of a health care office’s staff while also improving patient care, according to a new study.
The findings, reached by Dr Sunanda Kane and colleagues, were presented at the Advances in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases this week.
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To reach their conclusions, the researchers recruited adults with either ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn disease (CD) from outpatient clinics at Mayo Clinic Rochester, Arizona, Florida, or Health System. The participants were prescribed a new self-injectable biologic agent.
There were 39 participants in all, 20 of whom were randomly assigned to a collaborative, high-touch MTM program administered by Curant Health PharmDs, and 19 of whom were randomly assigned to standard care.
Participants in the standard care group were managed at the treating physician’s discretion, while participants in the MTM group were contacted per a defined protocol with calls at specified time points.
Overall, those in the MTM group made a significantly higher number of unsolicited calls to their practice sites than those in the standard care group (3 vs 1).
The MTM group also had a better adherence to medication, as defined by the percentage of patients with an MMAS-8 score greater than 6 at week 24. The adherence score ranged from 7.5 to 8 in the MTM group and from 5.5 to 6 in the standard care group.
The MTM group’s median disease score for both UC and CD also improved significantly. At week 24, 13 of the 20 MTM participants’ scores (vs 10 of the 19 in the standard care group) improved by more than 50%.
“Patients in the high-touch, collaborative MTM arm received additional engagement as evidenced by the significant increase in unsolicited patient calls,” the researchers concluded. “MTM patients also showed improved adherence and improved disease outcomes to injectable therapy.”
—Colleen Murphy
Reference:
Kane S, Becker B, Klemp E, et al. Medication therapy management is an effective tool to reduce office staff burden and optimize patient outcomes: a randomized pilot study. Paper presented at: Advances in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases; December 13-15, 2018; Orlando, FL. https://www.consultant360.com/meeting-materials/medication-therapy-management-effective-tool-reduce-office-staff-burden-and. Accessed November 28, 2018.
