Medication Adherence is Vital to Your Health

Recently, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has begun to address the health care system issues by developing the 5-star rating system. It aims to help improve quality of patient care, and compliance and adherence of their medication. Part D plans will be rated in part on how easy beneficiaries say it is for them to fill prescriptions or resolve issues related to their medications under the plan, in hopes to save billions of dollars in federal health care spending.

How does this affect you? Now your healthcare providers will be incentivized and graded on care coordination, quality improvement, patient safety updates and giving you better quality of service.

Local independent pharmacies are taking the CMS system one step further. Part of the patients' issue stems from the lack of education surrounding their health, their medications and how to take them. When patients don't understand the implications of their disease and the importance of following an adequate treatment, as well as the proper way to take the medications, the likelihood of compliance and adherence is significantly low.

Horst Pharmacy, a local independent pharmacy in Jackson has become an MTM Pharmacy Member utilizing the latest technology to benefit their customers and local community. The MTM Pharmacy Program is a turnkey program and a Medication Therapy Management tool that helps independent pharmacies' customers increase their knowledge and learn how to take their medicine correctly using an iPad. The MTM Pharmacy Program is the most significant retail pharmacy innovation of the year and will empower all pharmacy staff members, not just pharmacists, to teach their customers about the benefits of medication nutrient depletion, medication compliance and various health conditions. In addition, this innovative program will help healthcare providers who are customer focused achieve high ratings.

Pharmacies around the country using this Medication Therapy Management tool are all part of the MTM Pharmacy Network. This MTM Network highlights the MTM Pharmacies amongst the crowd for doctors and prescribers to refer patients, in order to give them the best educational and quality care.

The MTM Program is also an innovative way for independent pharmacies to reconnect with physicians and prescribers. The MTM iPad encompasses more than two hundred videos focusing on disease states, health conditions, nutrient depletion from Cholesterol and Diabetes medication, and "How-To" videos. These "How-To" videos show patients how to properly use certain devices such as a Diskus Inhaler or Spacer. Stop into Horst Pharmacy to learn more about this program.

For more information, contact Horst Pharmacy at 573-243-8173 or visit www.horstpharmacy.com or www.facebook.com/horstpharmacy

Located at 2705 E Jackson Blvd in Jackson