Minnesota Uses GIS to Increase Availability of MTM for Medicaid Recipients
Submission Date: September 2021
State/Territory Submitted on the Behalf of: Minnesota
States/Territories Involved: Minnesota
CDC Funding:Yes
Domain Addressed:Epidemiology and Surveillance
Public Health Issue:According to the Minnesota Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 24% of adults reported having high blood pressure in 2017. Of those, approximately 76% reported that they were taking medications prescribed to reduce their blood pressure. Similarly, in 2015, about one in four adults reported they were not taking their blood pressure medication according to doctor’s orders.
Medication Therapy Management (MTM) has been shown to be effective for improving medication adherence, lowering systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and improving the safe and effective use of medications.
Understanding the geographic patterns of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, medication nonadherence, and current use of the MTM benefit among Minnesota Medicaid recipients can help to inform policies, programs, and collaborations that lead to an increase in the number of pharmacists available to provide MTM services especially in high burden geographies.
Program Action:As part of the GIS Translation and Dissemination project, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), with partners and key stakeholders, hosted a one-day workshop to identify barriers and facilitators to MTM access.
GIS and maps played a central role in preparation and workshop discussion, and in the contents of the final products.
Maps were developed showing geographic patterns of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, medication nonadherence, and potential MTM target population among MN Medicaid beneficiaries and informed participant discussion related to need, pharmacist availability, and current MTM utilization.
Key stakeholders from the University of Minnesota (UMN) College of Pharmacy, community pharmacies, and MDH chronic disease programs identified and prioritized approximately 30 barriers and facilitators to MTM services during the workshop.
Barriers identified included lack of available resources showing return on investment for pharmacists and lack of training in how to operationalize MTM
As a result of the workshop, two products were developed for dissemination:
- Issue Brief on Blood Pressure Medication Adherence utilizing pharmacy claims data from the MN all-payer claims database (APCD)
- Customizable PowerPoint presentation tailored towards pharmacists including maps highlighting variation in BP Med Adherence at the county level and information about a free online course developed by the UMN College of Pharmacy, Billing for MTM Services in Minnesota.
GIS and maps helped to target areas for expanding MTM services for Medicaid recipients in MN.
The customizable PowerPoint slide deck emphasizing areas with high burden of cardiovascular disease and potential for Medicaid reimbursement of MTM supports MN in increasing engagement of pharmacy leaders across the state.
MN is developing a set of calculator tools that will enable pharmacies to make data-driven decisions regarding the provision of MTM to Medicaid recipients:
- Reimbursement Calculator: estimates potential Medicaid MTM revenue by community or pharmacy.
- Return on Investment Calculator: estimates the “break-even point” for implementing MTM.
Blood Pressure Medication Adherence has been added to MDH Cardiovascular Health Indicators Dashboard.
Program Areas:Epidemiology and Surveillance
State Contact Information:
MN
James Peacock
Minnesota Department of Health
651-201-5405
james.peacock@state.mn.us