With an increasingly aging population and 23.1% of Americans taking three or more medications, insurers and medical providers are looking to Medication Therapy Management (MTM) programs to more efficiently improve patient adherence to medications.¹ 

A graduate degree in Medication Therapy Management (MTM) opens up many new avenues for pharmacists, nurses, physician’s assistants and other healthcare workers.

Career Outcomes

MTM Skills Open Doors

The University of Florida’s online master’s degree in pharmacy with a concentration in medication therapy management prepares students to work as an MTM provider at MTM vendor companies, hospitals, managed care organizations and ambulatory care organizations. Students will also learn the business skills needed to open their own MTM practice.

Forge Your Own Path with MTM

The online graduate program covers a wide range of topics from disease states to business skills, enabling graduates to create a unique career path.

Ambulatory Care Pharmacist

Ambulatory care pharmacists tend to work mostly with patients with long-term conditions and chronic illnesses to improve these patient’s health outcomes. Depending on where they practice, ambulatory care pharmacists may be able to go beyond a traditional pharmacist’s role to adjust or discontinue medications, and order lab work. UF’s MTM program prepares students for the on-going observation required for ambulatory care pharmacy. Students will also gain a deeper background on common disorders, chronic illnesses and other conditions that benefit from monitoring by an ambulatory care physician.

Clinical Pharmacist 

Many students wishing to pivot from community or retail pharmacy choose to enroll in UF’s MTM program to prepare them to work in a clinical setting. A large part of a clinical pharmacist’s job is medication therapy. Clinical pharmacists work as part of a team with physicians and nurses, assessing the appropriateness of a patient’s medication, evaluating their effectiveness at meeting the patient’s health goals and educating the patient on their prescriptions.

Long-Term Care (LTC) Pharmacy 

Long-term care pharmacists provide in depth care to residents of long-term care facilities. LTC pharmacy is an emerging specialty that provides in depth services as part of a health care team for residents of long-term care facilities. UF’s MTM program prepares students for the challenges associated with LTC pharmacy, including the integrated nature of care, medication safety and strategies for complex patient needs. 

Students then explore MTM within different body systems, as well as patient care, medication safety, communication, billing, reimbursement, MTM business models and regulation. Upon completion of the program, the student will receive a Master of Science in Pharmacy with a concentration in Medication Therapy Management.

Entrepreneurship 

Pharmacists’ direct patient interaction makes them uniquely suited to entrepreneurship. Conversations with patients enables them to identify gaps in services or conditions that patients are seeking extra guidance for. From working as an individual disease-focused MTM consultant to starting an MTM vendor company, there are numerous untapped business opportunities for pharmacists. To help students maximize their potential, the Medication Therapy Management (MTM) online graduate program teaches the skills they will need to successfully manage a business from creating a business plan to billing and reimbursement.

MTM Vendors

Health care plans are increasingly turning to MTM vendor companies as they strive to improve outcomes while reducing costs. MTM vendors offer a number of services, from medication reviews to pharmacogenomics. This makes these services accessible to a greater number of patients. The breadth of knowledge that the MTM online graduate program equips graduates with enables them to take on a wide range of roles at MTM vendor companies, including working in administration, new program creation, patient counseling and research.

[1] Center for Disease Control. Fast Stats: Therapeutic Drug Use. Retrieved April 3, 2018., from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/drug-use-therapeutic.htm