Analyzing the costs to deliver medication therapy management services.

OBJECTIVES To provide pharmacy managers and consultant pharmacists with a step-by-step approach for analyzing of the costs of delivering medication therapy management (MTM) services and to describe use of a free online software application for determining costs of delivering MTM. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION The process described is applicable to community pharmacies and consultant pharmacists who provide MTM services from nonpharmacy settings. PRACTICE INNOVATION The PharmAccount Service Cost Calculator is an Internet- based software application that uses a guided online interview to collect information needed to conduct a comprehensive cost analysis of any specialized pharmacy service. In addition to direct variable and fixed costs, the software automatically allocates indirect and overhead costs to the service and generates an itemized report that details the components of service delivery costs. RESULTS The service cost calculator is sufficiently flexible to support the analysis of virtually any specialized pharmacy service, irrespective of whether the service is being delivered from a physical pharmacy. The software application allows users to perform sensitivity analysis to quickly determine the potential impact that alternate scenarios would have on service delivery cost. It is therefore particularly well suited to assist in the design and planning of a new pharmacy service. CONCLUSION Good management requires that the cost implications of service delivery decisions are known and considered. Analyzing the cost of an MTM service is an important step in developing a sustainable business model.