title: Characteristics, importance, and implications of comprehensive drug therapy management.
abstract: Ideas and opinions about comprehensive drug therapy management (CDTM) were gathered from an expert panel representing health care practitioners, educators, and consumers. A qualitative method of inquiry, the Delphi technique, was used to aggregate opinions of an expert panel of health care professionals, health care educators, and consumer representatives. The 66 experts who agreed to participate in the study consisted of 10 from pharmacy education, 10 from pharmacy professional associations, 20 from managed care, 19 from primary care, and 7 consumers (public members of health care regulatory and governing boards). Each participant was sent a questionnaire designed to evaluate a preliminary definition of CDTM and gather opinions on related topics. A second questionnaire was sent to the participants to determine the extent of their agreement with each statement generated by the first questionnaire. A third questionnaire was sent, asking participants to reconsider their ratings in light of the group's responses and to choose the most important elements. The response rates were 83% for the first questionnaire, 70% for the second, and 76% for the third. The panel reached a high level of agreement on a definition of CDTM. Panel members also identified many critical aspects of CDTM, including what makes it worthwhile, barriers to and facilitators of engaging in CDTM, key participants, ways in which responsibility for CDTM may be shared, and the competencies needed for CDTM. An expert panel of health care leaders and future leaders, within and outside the pharmacy profession, reached a high level of agreement on a definition of CDTM and identified many critical aspects of this concept.
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), USA. rlw@itsa.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Williard
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Tresolini
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: O'Neil
mesh_terms: D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003697:Delphi Technique; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000592:standards*; D004512:Education, Pharmacy; D006281:Health Occupations; D010604:Pharmacy / Q000639:trends*; D012107:Research Design; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States