The Get the Medications Right (GTMRx) Institute recently announced the release of the 2021 edition of its review of research being done by practice sites using comprehensive medication management (CMM). The summary, The Outcomes of Implementing and Integrating CMM in Team-Based Care: A Review of the Evidence on Quality, Access and Costs (commonly called the Evidence Document), is designed to highlight research demonstrating the value of CMM in achieving all four aspects of the quadruple aim of health care: improving patients’ health, reducing health care costs, improving patients’ care experiences, and improving health care team members’ work-life. Whereas the first edition primarily consisted of descriptive reports with preliminary data on clinical outcomes, the update includes studies evaluating larger patient populations over longer periods, with several comparison studies using either an active comparator clinic that had not yet implemented CMM or a historical cohort. The update also includes more multicenter studies, as well as statewide programs and new data from the Veterans Health Administration.

In addition to the traditional quality metrics for diabetes and hypertension, studies featured in the 2021 Evidence Document address CMM’s utility in the treatment of other chronic medical conditions, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and of patients with opioid misuse disorder. The update also includes new data assessing the impact of adding a CMM clinical pharmacist to the rest of the patient care team, including two large surveys of physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants finding satisfaction rates of over 90% with the work of the clinical pharmacists. Several of the studies also demonstrate the impact of an embedded CMM clinical pharmacist on reducing provider burnout and increasing patient access to care. The Evidence Document is a product of the Evidence Based Resources Subgroup of the GTMRx Practice and Care Delivery Transformation Workgroup. Authors include Lori Armistead, Pharm.D., M.A.; Marcia Buck, Pharm.D., FCCP, FPPA, BCPPS; Judith Jacobi, Pharm.D., FCCP, MCCM, BCCCP; Mary Ann Kliethermes, Pharm.D., FAPhA, FCIOM; and Shawn McFarland, Pharm.D., FCCP, BCACP, all members of ACCP. The Practice and Care Delivery Transformation Workgroup, as well as the other GTMRx workgroups, continues to add new members. ACCP members interested in participating in GTMRx are encouraged to become a signing member and indicate their interest in volunteering for a workgroup.