Sustaining Ambulatory Comprehensive Medication Management Practices: Perspectives from a Minnesota Pharmacist Collaborative

INTRODUCTION: In a time of evolving health care landscapes, pharmacists who provide comprehensive medication management (CMM) need to demonstrate financial and quality value to sustain their practice. Minnesota CMM programs started providing services in 1998, before recognition or reimbursement existed, and continue practices today. This long history lends itself well to the development of best practices for sustaining CMM practices. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The Health-Systems for Integrated Medication Management (HAIMM) represents 13 Minnesota health systems, including 90 pharmacists and 121 clinics across the state. Pharmacist representatives from each of the participating health systems were polled to determine commonly implemented sustainability strategies. Common trends were identified, and the group was surveyed for important considerations on implementation of each strategy. OBSERVATIONS: Poll results of strategies for CMM practice sustainability were placed into 2 categories: fiscal and quality-based initiatives. Each strategy was discussed to determine implementation options and lessons learned from the collaborative. IMPLICATIONS: Numerous strategies were identified to ensure CMM practice sustainability. HAIMM’s programs found it best to use a mixture of fiscal and quality-based strategies to sustain their practices.