NASP: Clinical Therapy Management Program Impact on Adherence

Implementing a clinical therapy management (CTM) program can have a significant impact on adherence, according to a study involving 178 patients who had at least 1 prescription dispensed for immune globulin (IG) therapy. The study results were presented in a poster entitled “Impact of the Clinical Therapy Management Program for Immune Globulin on Adherence for Patients at Barnes Precision Specialty Pharmacy” during the 2015 NASP Annual Conference.

In order to meet the needs of multiple stake-holders, Barnes Precision Specialty Pharma-cy implemented the Managed Health Care Associates’ (MHA) CTM program to track IG patients. This enabled clinicians to follow a clinical support pathway and aided in the collection of clinical and dispensing metrics.

Patients who had at least 1 prescription dispensed for IG therapy either 6 months pre-CTM and 6 months post-CTM were included in the study. Adherence for IG therapy was measured by average number of fills per patient and total number of fills prior to CTM implementation and post-CTM implementation. The average number of grams per patient were also analyzed.

Among the results:

• The total number of fills prior to the CTM program was 696, compared with 943 after implementation.
•  The average number of fills prior to the CTM program was 3.91 compared to 5.3 after implementation.

• The average number of grams increased from 168.54 grams per patient prior to CTM to 246.29 grams per patient post-CTM implementation.

The researchers noted that data on how this may have impacted clinical outcomes has not yet been determined. They plan further analysis to characterize the patient population, dosing, and outcomes.

The CTM program is one strategy that Barnes Precision Specialty Pharmacy uses to manage a complex therapeutic category as it works toward visibility into actionable clinical data, optimal patient outcomes, and improved customer service, researchers concluded.—Dean Celia