The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy has awarded two gold medals for abstracts developed by researchers at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy’s Medication Therapy Management Communication and Care Center, or MTMCCC.
UF’s gold winning abstracts rank among the elite abstracts submitted for the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy’s Nexus 2015 conference. Only 32 of the more than 280 abstract submissions secured platinum or gold honors. The two UF abstracts taking home gold medals included:
Examining Alternative Standardized Scripts to Improve Comprehensive Medication Review Participation Rate
A team of UF researchers tested a modified recruitment script to encourage Medicare-eligible members to participate in a comprehensive medication review. Researchers developed the new script to overcome barriers that had previously prevented patients from participating in a comprehensive medication review and found the new version to be effective in converting members who had initially declined a review. The findings may prove beneficial when in 2016 Medicare prescription drug benefit plans, MAPD and PDP, will be rated on a new Star Ratings quality measure that examines the percentage of medication therapy management-eligible members that participate in a comprehensive medication review.
The Impact of a Telephonic Outreach Program on Medication Adherence in Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan Members
A research team including UF College of Pharmacy faculty members Teresa Roane, Pharm.D., BCACP, Haesuk Park, Ph.D., and Ayoade Adeyemi, a post-doctoral fellow under the supervision of Park, examined the effectiveness of a telephone outreach program initiated by UF’s MTMCCC to improve medication adherence for patients with diabetes and hypertension. The MTMCCC engages health plan members enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plans through live, telephone assessments to determine potential barriers, and provide interventions, to improve medication adherence. The research study analyzed medication refill claims data for more than 12,000 members through a treatment and control group and found MTMCCC’s telephone adherence program demonstrated a significant increase in medication adherence.
Researchers will present the gold medal abstracts at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy’s Nexus 2015 conference in Orlando on Oct. 26-29. In addition, the abstracts will be published in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy.