Pharmacist-Delivered Comprehensive Medication Management in a Substance Use Disorder Inpatient Residential Treatment Program, a 12-Month Descriptive Report

Background: Substance Use Disorders (SUD) have touched many communities across the United States, claiming the lives of many. While promising progress has been made in reducing the impact of SUD on society, novel and expanded efforts are still required to continue advancing this progress. Pharmacists utilizing Comprehensive Medication Management (CMM) within an alcohol and drug treatment center have been a part of this effort to expand innovative practices to combat the SUD crisis. The objectives of this report are to (1) characterize the residential patient population served at the Center for Alcohol and Drug Treatment (CADT), (2) describe the medication therapy problems (MTPs) identified and resolved over the first 12 months of implementation of CMM in the residential inpatient SUD treatment setting, and (3) discuss the expansion of CMM implementation in a residential inpatient SUD treatment setting. Methods: A prospective, observational, descriptive report analyzing the impact of CMM services provided. Results: Over the 12-month implementation period, CMM services were provided to 165 patients at 295 visits. On average, 7.3 medications (range 0–26), 3.9 (1–14) conditions, and 2 (0–6) MTPs were evaluated per encounter. Major findings included 72.4% of MTPs being resolved during or after the visit and a lack of adequate payment for CMM services to be financially viable. Conclusion: The expansion of CMM services at the CADT led to a high resolution rate (72.4%) of MTPs in the first year and is an example of an innovative and novel way that pharmacy practice can combat the SUD crisis. However, payment for CMM services is a barrier to implementation and sustainability.