Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) advocates for a collaborative approach to achieving optimal therapeutic outcomes, emphasizing the shared responsibility of the health care team. AMCP supports pharmacists playing an active role in developing, implementing, and monitoring therapeutic plans, fostering collaboration with providers, and empowering patients to make informed decisions that improve patient outcomes. Additionally, AMCP endorses Collaborative Drug Therapy Management (CDTM) to allow pharmacists to use their specialized expertise to enhance patient care and outcomes.
Collaborative Drug Therapy Management (CDTM), or a collaborative practice agreement (CPA), is the partnership between qualified pharmacists and prescribing clinicians to manage a patient’s drug therapy, as defined within the context of a CPA.1 Examples of this care include initiating, modifying, or stopping medication therapy under an agreed protocol written in a formal agreement. This approach is currently implemented within various states throughout the country, though each state differs in the scope that pharmacists can practice. CPAs are designed to optimize patient outcomes in chronic disease management and medication adherence and allow pharmacists to be subject matter experts on medication and health-related questions for the provider with whom they enter into an agreement. CPA models also support the overall health care shift to more team-based approaches where pharmacists can help reduce medication errors, improve education, and enhance medication outcomes.
While the patient ultimately benefits from collaborative care, the provider and pharmacist mutually benefit. Collaboration between providers and pharmacists allows pharmacists to practice at the top of their license while increasing professional satisfaction and expanding their traditional role in the health care ecosystem. Pharmacists also support managing complex patient regimens, reducing provider workload. By balancing the expertise of providers and pharmacists, collaborative care enhances the quality of care for patients and contributes to efficient, sustainable health care systems.
A 2024 article that reviewed the expanding role of pharmacists within multidisciplinary health care teams noted that integrating pharmacists into various care settings enhances communication and productivity among providers while reducing duplication in the same-patient assessments and overlapping patient care. Pharmacists also improve medication safety, enhance therapeutic efficacy, expand medication access, and reduce health care costs.2
Pharmacist-led comprehensive medication management programs also decrease the burden of provider shortages and burnout while enhancing patient satisfaction and overall health outcomes. Collaborative interventions improved relationships between pharmacists and physicians, promoting more integrated patient care.3 The incorporation of pharmacists may also bridge gaps associated with social determinants of health, thereby addressing health disparities to improve outcomes.4 Beyond traditional comprehensive medication management (e.g., medication therapy management), pharmacists also contribute to patient care in different settings as a part of multidisciplinary teams (e.g., through transitions of care, within specialty clinics, in managed care settings).
Collaborative Drug Therapy Management:
03/31/25 - Combined associated historical statements into one position statement and introduced “Background” and “Evidence” sections.
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