Promoting medication therapy management for at-risk populations: Lessons from a learning collaborative implementing pharmacy-supported interventions in federally qualified health centers

Increasingly, health care organizations are using communities of practice to improve clinical care and facilitate implementation of evidence-based practices.(1). Accordingly, the Health Care Innovations Exchange, sponsored by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, established the Promoting Medication Therapy Management for At-Risk Populations Learning Community (MTMLC). The MTMLC explored integrating pharmacists as a vital part of the primary care team in federally qualified heath centers (FQHCs) to improve the health of patients with, or at high risk of, diabetes.                                                                                                                     

Safety net clinics such as FQHCs and FQHC Look-Alikes typically serve at-risk patients with one or more chronic conditions and socioeconomic disadvantages. These populations face challenges in understanding how to take their medications appropriately and why active self-management of their health conditions is important. In collaboration with the Texas Southern University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, select FQHCs in Houston adapted an evidence-based MTM strategy to improve patient care. The MTMLC’s national representation included 14 primary care and pharmaceutical sites collaborating to implement MTM, with technical assistance and support from nationally recognized experts.

This presentation will share the theoretical framework used to develop the learning community, and share lessons learned from the learning community about implementing the quality improvement MTM initiative among participating community clinics.

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(1) Ranmuthugala, G., Plumb, J. J., Cunningham, F. C., Georgiou, A., Westbrook, J. I., & Braithwaite, J. (2011). How and why are communities of practice established in the healthcare sector? A systematic review of the literature. BMC health services research, 11(1), 273.

Learning Areas:

Chronic disease management and prevention
Clinical medicine applied in public health
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related research
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the value of learning communities for quality improvement initiatives. Describe the main components of the medication therapy management intervention applied in the participating FQHC clinics. Discuss the lessons learned from this learning community.

Keyword(s): Community-Based Partnership & Collaboration, Pharmacists

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Maurice Johnson, Jr., MPH is a research analyst with 7 years of experience supporting data collection and management and literature reviews for health-related research. His work has been focused on primary care, care coordination, hospital readmission, and health disparities. Mr. Johnson is also a 3rd year doctoral student at George Mason University School of Public Policy, focusing his work on the Affordable Care Act, health disparities, and hospital re-admissions.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3139.0: Establishing learning collaboratives to facilitate quality improvement: Insights from AHRQ Healthcare Innovations Exchange learning communities