MEDICATION THERAPY MANAGEMENT

To support medication therapy management (MTM) services as defined in Section 3503 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PL 111-148); further,

To affirm that MTM is a partnership between the patient (or a caregiver) and a pharmacist, in collaboration with other health care professionals, that promotes the safe and effective use of medications.

Rationale

The term "medication therapy management" (MTM) has received widespread use within the pharmacy profession and among health policymakers. The definition of MTM under Part D of the Medicare program is significantly different from the consensus definition developed by national pharmacy organizations, including ASHP, in 2004. Provisions dealing with MTM grant programs contained in Section 3503 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PL 111-148) (PPACA) broaden and enhance MTM beyond the Part D definition. Those provisions also refer to collaborative practice agreements as allowed by state practice acts, referred to in ASHP policy and elsewhere as "collaborative drug therapy management" (CDTM). As health care reform evolves and is implemented, it is important to recognize the distinction that state and federal laws and regulations and ASHP policy make between those two terms and to affirm ASHP’s support for the broader definition of MTM in PPACA and the central role of pharmacists in MTM. The policy should also not be construed as an endorsement of defining certain practices as MTM to allow billing for a pharmacist code because this can unnecessarily limit practice advancement.