FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For Further Information Contact:
Desiree M. Voinche
Manager, Communications and Outreach
voinched@dfmc.org

Pharmacists Enthusiastic About Delmarva Foundation Project
Program designed to improve patient care by providing
Medication Therapy Management Services in community pharmacies

Easton, Maryland, November 13, 2006 – Delmarva Foundation, Medicare’s Quality Improvement Organization for Maryland and the District of Columbia, kicked off its medication therapy quality improvement project recently when it hosted its first symposium aimed at educating community pharmacists about a new opportunity to improve health care quality for Medicare beneficiaries. Over 120 pharmacists and other pharmacy stakeholders, including trade associations, hospitals, and professional organizations, attended the “Medication Therapy Management Program: Embracing New Opportunities in Pharmacy” series, sponsored by Delmarva Foundation, Howard University School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and Medi-CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. The program’s faculty featured representatives from the American Pharmacists Association, Howard University School of Pharmacy, the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and was held over two separate sessions at the Howard University and University of Maryland Schools of Pharmacy campuses. The program identified ways medication therapy management services (MTMS) can be implemented in community pharmacies.

“We are thrilled to see the enthusiastic response of area pharmacists to this opportunity,” said Carmen Tyler Winston, Delmarva’s Director of Quality Improvement. “They recognize a chance to play a greater role in providing quality health care to Medicare beneficiaries.”

MTMS focuses on improving patients’ understanding of the medications they are taking and assessing patients’ medications for appropriateness, as well as any potential side effects of their prescriptions. The pharmacist reviews all the medications a patient is taking, including prescription and over-the-counter products, vitamins and herbals. Some of the benefits include the identification of drug-drug interactions as well as medications that may be inappropriate for use by the elderly.  Medicare beneficiaries will receive a personal medication record to help them keep track of their medications for no additional charge.

Anne Burns, Group Director for Practice Development at the American Pharmacists Association, and a speaker at the MTM Symposium, said, “The eyes of the national pharmacy community are on this project. This is a unique approach to engaging pharmacists to become more significant members of the health care team.”

This educational effort is part of a larger collaboration between Delmarva Foundation, the local schools of Pharmacy and Medi-CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield to improve patient self-management through MTMS. Funded through a contract from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Delmarva Foundation facilitated this collaboration to improve outpatient prescription drug therapy under the new Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit.

“This project presents us with an exciting opportunity to improve the quality of prescription medication therapy,” said Michael Tooke, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Delmarva Foundation. “Our partnership with the Howard and Maryland Schools of Pharmacy gives us a unique forum to educate pharmacists about innovative methods available to them in the area of medication therapy management. A crucial element of this project is that Medi-CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield has taken a real leadership position in the country by making MTMS available to all its members via direct contact with community pharmacists.”

Delmarva Foundation’s MTMS project will analyze the impact on the quality and safety of prescription medication therapy in Medicare beneficiaries. Other issues to be analyzed will include the costs to the patient, as well as the professional satisfaction of the participating pharmacists. For more information about this program, please visit www.delmarvafoundation.org

##### 

About Delmarva Foundation
Delmarva Foundation is a national, not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving healthcare quality in over 20 states. Since 1973, Delmarva has assisted in improving care in hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, medical practices and health plans. Delmarva performs quality improvement, quality assurance, utilization review, external quality review and Program Safeguard activities. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Easton, Maryland with other offices in Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, DC; Columbia, South Carolina; Tampa, Florida; and Tallahassee, Florida. For more information, please visit Delmarva Foundation on the web at www.delmarvafoundation.org.