Abstract
Background: The medication management for people with asthma (MMA) Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measure assesses adherence to controller therapy >75% of the calendar year. A new “Action List” feature recently incorporated into Allscripts, the hospital electronic health record (EHR), is used by a certified asthma educator (AE-C) pharmacist to track both the progress of and to improve patients’ MMA measures.Objective: To evaluate the impact of an AE-C pharmacist using an EHR Action List on improving the number of patients with a MMA >75% compared to a pre-intervention group. Methods: This was a retrospective, pre-post cohort study assessing the impact of an AE-C pharmacist on 2017 versus 2016 calendar year MMA measures. During the intervention period, the AE-C pharmacist conducted patient follow-up calls, as per the Action List, for refill reminders and identification/resolution of nonadherence. Providers were contacted for prescription renewals and insurance formulary changes. This data was compared with historical data from 2016.Results: One-hundred and fifty-five patients were identified, 100 in the 2017 pharmacyintervention group and 55 in the pre-intervention (pre Action List) group. There was no significant increase in the MMA >75% measure in the Action List group when compared with the pre-intervention group (46% vs. 34.6%, p=0.1667). More patients who met the MMA measure were seen by a pulmonologist versus a primary care provider in both groups.Conclusions: The AE-C pharmacist intervention was associated with a non-significant 11.4% increase in patients with a MMA >75%. This small preliminary study suggests promising results for the use of pharmacists to improve HEDIS measures, especially in PCP clinics.
Highlights
Asthma is a chronic lung disease characterized by repeated episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing, and affecting people of all ages [1]
Our study suggests that the use of an Action List by an asthma educator (AE-C) pharmacist may improve asthma medication adherence, as indicated by Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) adherence measures
Our study adds to this body of research by showing that patients seen in pulmonology clinic may be more adherent to their medications – i.e. more likely to meet the management for people with asthma (MMA) measure - than those seen in primary care provider (PCP) clinics
Summary
Asthma is a chronic lung disease characterized by repeated episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing, and affecting people of all ages [1]. A new “Action List” feature recently incorporated into Allscripts, the hospital electronic health record (EHR), is used by a certified asthma educator (AE-C) pharmacist to track both the progress of and to improve patients’ MMA measures. Objective: To evaluate the impact of an AE-C pharmacist using an EHR Action List on improving the number of patients with a MMA > 75% compared to a pre-intervention group. There was no significant increase in the MMA > 75% measure in the Action List group when compared with the pre-intervention group (46% vs 34.6%, p=0.1667). Conclusions: The AE-C pharmacist intervention was associated with a non-significant 11.4% increase in patients with a MMA > 75% This small preliminary study suggests promising results for the use of pharmacists to improve HEDIS measures, especially in PCP clinics
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