More than 6.3 million medications were dispensed in 2020 across the U.S. While some patients take short-course medications, such as one-week antibiotics, many regularly take drugs to control chronic illnesses. Maintaining proper medication therapy is challenging for most patients regardless of the regimen. This is where medication therapy management comes in.

Medication therapy management is a program that ensures patients receive appropriate medications and pharmacists efficiently monitor patient’s progress to optimize treatment outcomes. Patients should seek MTM services from Compounding pharmacy in Colorado for the following benefits.

1. Medication Assessment

The importance of medication assessment is often overlooked. Unfortunately, treatments that work for one patient won’t always work for another. Interestingly, some perfectly effective drugs can harm other patients. Medication therapy management involves assessing individual patient’s drugs, be it prescriptions, OTC drugs, vitamins, or supplements, to determine their effectiveness and whether they are appropriate for the patient.

Medications that are found to be ineffective are changed accordingly. Pharmacists also take into consideration the patient’s ability to self-administer. Medication assessment makes the treatment regimen personalized and collaborative. Comprehensive medication therapy management is unique to the patient’s overall health and lifestyle.

2. Reduces Hospitalizations and Improves Therapeutic Outcomes

More than 1.3 million suffer from the complications of medication errors resulting from self-administration of drugs at home. This includes taking the wrong pill or taking drugs at the wrong time. Medication errors impair the drug's effectiveness and cause adverse reactions that can lead to hospitalization.

Medication therapy management can significantly reduce adverse reactions and the risk of hospitalization caused by these errors. MTM services help patients understand how and when to take their medications. MTM also reduces hospitalization by ensuring that prescribed drugs don’t interact.

Medication therapy management is an ongoing activity. It isn’t a one-time conversation. Pharmacists monitor the effectiveness of prescribed drugs, ensuring that patients recover and meet their expected goals.

3. Reduces Medication Side Effects

Having multiple prescriptions increases the chances of drug interactions. However, pharmacists providing MTM services carefully review your medications, especially how they interact with each other. MTM ensures that the combination of your prescription is safe and effective.

Pharmacists also ensure that prescribed medications don’t have adverse side effects, don’t interact negatively with OTC drugs, and are right for the patient’s lifestyle. Evaluating all these parameters helps mitigate unwanted side effects.

4. Reduces Treatment Costs

Effective medication therapy management not only improves patient outcomes but also reduces medication costs and overall treatment costs. However, medication therapy management allows patients to save on treatment costs by purchasing drugs that are deemed appropriate and effective for their condition. Improved adherence to treatment regimens, reduced side effects, and hospitalization further save healthcare costs.

Endnote

Medication therapy management helps prevent and solve common challenges in medication administration. This includes improper use of drugs, drug interactions, unnecessary prescription, and polypharmacy. MTM also offers medication education and advice to patients and their caregivers. These benefits improve treatment outcomes, improves patient satisfaction, and shortens disease recovery period.