Comprehensive Medication Management
What is CMM?
Comprehensive medication management (CMM) is a patient-centered approach to optimizing medication use and improving patient health outcomes that is delivered by a pharmacist working in collaboration with the patient and other healthcare providers. This care process ensures patients’ medications (whether prescription, nonprescription, alternative, traditional, or supplemental) are individually assessed to determine that each medication has an appropriate indication, is effective and achieving defined patient and/or clinical goals, is safe given comorbidities and other medications being taken, and that the patient is able to take the medication as intended and adhere to the prescribed regimen. (McInnis, Webb, & Strand, 2012)
How is CMM Different from MTM?
Comprehensive Medication Management (CMM) and Medication Therapy Management (MTM) are terms that are often used interchangeably, as both services entail reviewing a patient’s medications in light of their current health status, identifying medication therapy problems, providing recommendations for adjustments in medication therapies as warranted, and helping address patient adherence issues.
However, MTM has taken on many different definitions and meanings over the years and has no distinct patient care process associated with it. In other words, when MTM is delivered, it is often not clear exactly what the intervention is and what steps are being carried out to care for the patient. CMM, however, is a comprehensive patient care process, with a clear definition and a set of essential functions and operational definitions that explicitly outline the steps required to deliver the intervention in a consistent manner.
Access to a patient’s medical record, assessment of the patient’s clinical status, collaboration with other healthcare providers to optimize the individual’s medication therapy regimen, and provision of patient monitoring and follow-up are other key requirements for CMM. The ultimate goal of CMM is to improve clinical outcomes, reduce overall healthcare costs, improve patients’ medication experience, and achieve patients’ personal goals of therapy through the optimization of medication use.