What is Medication Management Therapy?

Medication management therapy, also known as MTM, is a treatment method widely applied by medical specialists and pharmacists to determine whether patients taking medical prescriptions get the needed therapeutic outcome. Moreover, medication management therapy covers the following professional activities:

Maintaining a higher standard of care among medical specialists by improving documentation and communication between the providers of the MTM service;
Creating both short-term and long-term medication plans for patients that need treatment;
Ensuring directional or instruction-based standard by the help of patient education;
Carrying out complete patient assessments or reviews of the taken prescriptions and finding out whether their interaction may lead to any side effects;
Keeping track of the safety and effectiveness of prescription medication plans.

So, medication management therapy is a cumulative work between healthcare providers, pharmacies, and other medical experts with the aim of ensuring that the meds that were prescribed are used as intended. Also, they ensure that the chances of abuse are limited as much as possible and that the clients are well-aware of their prescriptions and know that they should use the medications properly and only for their specific purpose.

The standard for MTM care was adopted by eleven national pharmacy organizations in 2004.

Medication Management Therapy Methods

Medication management therapy consists of five main components. They were laid out by the American Pharmacists Association and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation.

Here are the core components:

Intervention and/or referral: Sometimes, due to the complexity of the patients’ conditions, the patients tend to lack the understanding of that condition and treatment protocol. Therefore the pharmacist can directly contact the physician that made such a prescription to decide whether the patient needs extra monitoring, education on their condition, or a follow-up visit to the doctor.
Personal medication record (PMR): In short, this a compiled list of all prescribed medications that a patient was taking in the past or is currently taking. This list also consists of additional items, such as herbal products, dietary supplements, and other non-prescription meds. The PMR gives the pharmacists the ability to assist the patients with overall medication self-management therapy. Also, this allows the professionals to ensure that there will be no adverse side-effects from the mix of drugs that were prescribed.
Documentation and follow-up: This documentation should contain a complete record of the person’s care steps, history of prescribed medications, side effects if there were any. It should be updated periodically. In most cases, this documentation is updated when a patient changes the physician, receives a new prescription, or makes such a request by themselves.
Medication therapy review (MTR): The main reason for this systematic process of collecting patient-specific date is to assess medication therapies that may help determine whether there are any medication-specific issues and put together a plan to find a solution to this problem. Usually, this step is carried out in a spoken or written form (in most cases, it is a checklist) and assist the pharmacist in determining whether the prescribed medication can offer the patient the best chance of recovery or proper management of a specific condition, as well as to minimize the chances of side effects occurrence. Also, if there is a better alternative to the meds, MTR will help the professional find it.
Medication-related action plan (MAP): The MAP is a document that includes a list of actions that should or should not be taken in order to be able to keep track of the progress for health goals and the effect of the medications on that goal. For instance, if you get diagnosed with crippling anxiety, this created document will tell you what steps are recommended to take to properly assess whether the prescribed meds help the individual deal with the condition.

What Qualities Should an MTM Professional Possess?

Currently, most of the pharmacy organizations stick to MTM or another strategy when it comes to the management of medications or prescriptions. Therefore, there are great chances that your local pharmacy has what you need. But if you feel like your pharmacist or the MTM professional doesn’t fulfill your needs, you are free to do your research of a provider that you will feel more comfortable and accommodating with.

What is Psychiatric Medication Management?

Psychiatric medication management is when a psychiatrist or a psychiatric practitioner gives an assessment of the meds to a patient. This is very useful when an individual wants to explore the available medication options. When it comes to medicated treatment, the patients usually don’t have much knowledge about the medications. Here is where medication management comes in handy. Having the knowledge that a psychiatric assessment offers can reduce your anxiety significantly.

Our bodies function in such a way that our mental health is directly connected with our physical well-being. If we experience something negative, after it, we may feel anxious, overwhelmed, or in some cases, even depressed. Their post-traumatic experiences have to be treated properly; otherwise, they can lead to destructive behaviors in our everyday lives and relationships. Therefore, it is important to get a physical check, as well as mental health check-up at least once a year.

A psychiatrist or a psychiatric practitioner will give you a check quite similar to the one that a primary care provider does. In this case, such a check-up is called an assessment. It is based on an overview of an individual’s symptoms that will help decide whether the medication you are currently on is doing any good in solving your mental health concerns. So, primary care providers assess your physical well-being, while psychiatrists try to get to the core of your mental health issues in the form of discussion.

After such an assessment, the doctor will make a diagnosis and put together a treatment plan. Sometimes it happens that medications also get prescribed. In such a case, you will be informed and educated about them and possible side effects.

In the beginning, you and the professional will choose a treatment option, and then you will get a prescription. But to observe whether it is effective, it will be prescribed for a trial period. This aspect of psychiatric care is called medication management. The professional will monitor you to find out whether the medication meets your specific health goal. Keep in mind that since psychiatric medications have a different effect on everyone, their effectiveness may also vary.

Also, sometimes along with medication, it is recommended to attend other mental health treatment options, such as counseling, behavior therapy, or family counseling. After discussing everything through, the expert will help you choose the optimal treatment plan for your specific needs.

Moreover, it should be noted that there always is a risk of a side-effect occurring with medications. But all of the potential side effects will be discussed by your psychiatrist. Some think that they don’t need any meds. However, there are cases when they are necessary, and they are the only way to help the patient step on the road to recovery.

To summarize, medicines are an important part of any treatment plan for mental health illnesses. Usually, meds are being prescribed to patients that are suffering from sleep issues, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, attention deficit disorder, etc.

But remember that there is no magical medication that can help you instantly. To completely recover, you need time and effort. You must take action towards the solution to your problem, and you should be able to face the challenges that await you. Properly chosen medication is only the first step to getting better. But don’t also forget about educating yourself on new ways to deal with anxiety and stress, avoiding drugs that weren’t prescribed by the specialist, eating well, exercise, maintaining healthy relationships, etc.