PCMH Model

After reading the articles, it is clear that pharmacists play a critical role in improving the health of patients. In my opinion, pharmacists are fundamental in terms of how successful patient centered medical homes (PCMHs) are by optimizing medication management, thus increasing medication adherence, safety, and quality of care. In PCMHs, pharmacists play a vital role in community and population health by educating the public on medication safety policies and collaborating with other healthcare teams to improve quality of care.

I learned that there are many issues with the prescription medication system. Drugs are frequently prescribed for chronic conditions, however, the documentation of all drugs being taken is often inaccurate or incomplete.

Pharmacists possess skills and knowledge that is complementary to other healthcare team members. I think the best way a pharmacist can be integrated into PCMHs is through the embedded model. In this model, a pharmacist practices in the PCMH office setting through a partnership between the PCMH and a hospital pharmacy.5 The pharmacist is still able to provide the same MTM services as the employed model, however, this model is more affordable because the pharmacist’s salary is shared between the PCMH and the hospital. Other articles discussed the promising results of collaborative drug-therapy management through MTM.5,1 In this, a pharmacist and physician establish a system where a pharmacist can modify drug therapy for specific patients. This form of team-based care also involves a high level of patient engagement. Patients are actively involved so that they are educated about the medications they are on and the treatment plan. This allows the pharmacist to use their skills in motivational interviewing to develop a medication plan for the patient, then relay information such as progress and problems to the other professionals on the patient’s team. The collaborative drug-therapy management system requires a high level of communication between the pharmacist and others. Without effective communication, the PCMH and collaborative drug-therapy management system would not be effective even with a pharmacist fully