Chase Reece, BSHP '24

Today, I continued to search for CDTM articles for the literature review. One of the interesting topics within several of the articles that I found today was patient perceptions of CDTM. Many studies have thoroughly documented the effectiveness of comprehensive medication management. Moreover, patient-centered and team-based care such as CDTM agreements between physicians and clinical pharmacists have been shown to positively improve patient outcomes. However, access to comprehensive medication management is still scarce partly due to the lack of patient recognition of its value. If patients do not recognize the abilities of clinical pharmacists to provide such services, they will continue to be underutilized. This emphasizes the importance of increasing patient awareness of CDTM, as well as physician awareness since physicians often are the ones to direct patients to these services. Studies have found that physicians who are more experienced or further on in their careers are more likely to have positive views of CDTM, and this could potentially be due to greater familiarity with it. It is important to emphasize among patients that CDTM does not replace their relationship with their physicians, but rather supplements it. By highlighting the value of team-based care, more patients may begin to utilize these services.