Physician attitudes toward pharmacist provision of medication therapy management services.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The implementation of Medicare Part D in 2006 has the potential to advance the profession of pharmacy through the provision and remuneration of pharmacist-provided medication therapy management (MTM) services. Limited research has evaluated physician attitudes toward pharmacist-provided MTM services, and little is known about factors that may affect these attitudes. The aim of this study was to test a model of physicians' attitudes toward pharmacist-provided MTM services as a part of Medicare Part D. SETTING AND METHOD: A mail survey was sent to a random sample of 500 physicians practicing in West Virginia. Multiple linear regression was used to test the model. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The independent variables included prescription volume, specialty type, years of practice, gender, academic affiliation, practice size, physicians' attitudes toward collaborative agreement, and physician-pharmacist communication frequency. Additionally, physician age was included as a control variable. RESULTS: A total of 102 responses were received yielding a response rate of 22.1%. The mean for physicians' attitude to support provision of MTM by pharmacists was 2.84 out of 5. The overall physicians' attitudes model for provision of MTM by pharmacists was found to be significant. Physicians' attitudes toward collaborative agreement, specialty, years of practice, physician-pharmacist communication frequency regarding patients communication, and gender had significant influences on physician attitudes toward provision of MTM by pharmacists. CONCLUSION: The proposed model can provide insight into physicians' attitudes toward provision of MTM by pharmacists and may be helpful in developing future approaches and policies to further improve this collaborative relationship.