GTMRx Institute Issues New Report Highlighting Need for Medication Management Reform and Steps to Achieve it

TYSONS CORNER, Va., July 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, The Get the Medications Right™ (GTMRx) Institute, a catalyst for change that brings critical stakeholders together who are bound by the urgent need to get the medications right, is announcing the launch of "The GTMRx Blueprint for Change," a robust report based on eight months of multi-stakeholder input and guidance for how to change the way medications are managed, including a roadmap for reform.

As the race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 accelerates, preventative medicine has taken center stage and with it continues an important debate around the need for Comprehensive Medication Management (CMM), a practice level, team-based process that includes the patient working in collaboration with the physician and a team that includes a clinical pharmacist.

Studies show nearly 75 percent of physician office and hospital outpatient clinic visits involve medication therapy and almost 30 percent of adults take five or more medications. At the same time, non-optimized medication use leads to at least 275,000 deaths annually and costs over $528 billion. The GTMRx report outlines steps for reform, including an evidence-based process of care that personalizes the approach and leads to better care, reduced costs and improved patient satisfaction and provider work life.

"The health care industry is fighting multiple health crises right now—between COVID-19 and the ongoing opioid epidemic, appropriate use of medications has never been more important," said Katherine H. Capps, co-founder and executive director of GTMRx. "Now is the time to overhaul the process with a person-centered, team-based care approach. More than 10,000 prescription medications are on the market today, and with growing numbers of Americans being prescribed more medications, a new approach is critical and as shepherds for getting medications right, this is our time to reform a broken process."

The GTMRx Blueprint for Change includes recommendations to engage everyone involved in patient care—from physicians to clinical pharmacists, health plan sponsors, providers, consumer groups and policymakers. The GTMRx Four Pillars of Medication Management Reform include revamping:

1. How we practice: Medications are involved in 80 percent of all treatments; however, physicians have little time to speak with patients about new medications during a typical office A team-based approach where a medication expert works in collaborative practice with the physician, can significantly impact cost and quality and optimize medication management. To do this effectively, key stakeholders (i.e. payers, patients, providers) must be educated about the value of CMM.
2. How we pay: Prescription drug spending exceeds $300 billion a year, but while price and access have been at the forefront of discussions, the GTMRx Blueprint takes a deeper look into the process of care as the solution. By first ensuring the medication being prescribed is the appropriate one, this evidence-based approach, known as CMM, can help repair this broken system and mitigate the misuse and mismanagement of medications in the future.
3. How we use diagnostics: In an effort to uproot today's trial and error approach to medication use, companion and complementary diagnostics tools, accompanied by a team-based process of care, can help better evaluate medications to ensure they are appropriate for patients. To move this forward, physicians, pharmacists and other team members must understand their value and have the ability to interpret and make use of these new diagnostic tools during the CMM process, and consumers need to recognize their potential to personalize their care.
4. How we integrate technology: It is vital for regulators, care providers and payers to work together to establish standards and best practices for interoperability making clinical data available at the point-of-care to enable the CMM process. With risk stratification tools, new data can be aggregated and integrated to identify those who need the service supporting the medication expert in identifying patients that have not achieved clinical goals of therapy.

The GTMRx Institute is funded by leading-edge health care organizations. The Institute currently includes more than 950 members from 650 companies located in 49 states plus the District of Columbia and is actively seeking new members—from physicians, registered nurses and other health care providers, health IT innovators, drug and diagnostics companies, consumer groups, drug manufacturers, payers, employers and other key stakeholders.

To review the findings and advice on how to bring about medication management reform, download the full report.

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SOURCE GTMRx Institute