Examining the Implementation of Medication Therapy Management Services Using the Theory of Planned Behavior

Pharmaceutical care is transforming from primarily dispensing practices into clinical services under the Medication Therapy Management (MTM) concept. MTM services have been beneficial in the civilian sector; however, there is limited information in the current literature that describes the benefits of these services in the military healthcare system, particularly in Navy Medicine. These services have the potential to meet the objectives of the enterprise in maintaining quality patient care while facing its current challenges. Knowledge gained about this phenomenon would provide additional information to allow informed decisions when implementing these services in the organization. The purpose of this quantitative non-experimental cross-sectional research was to evaluate the relation between the intent of pharmacy personnel in providing MTM services and the following constructs of the theory of planned behavior (TPB): a) attitude, b) subjective norms, and c) perceived behavioral control. The predictor variables were attitude toward implementation of MTM services, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control while the criterion variable was intention to implement MTM services. The data was collected from 125 members of the Navy Pharmacy public group in Facebook using a researcher-developed survey instrument. Hypothesis testing and linear regression analysis in SPSS were used to assess the relationship between dependent and independent variables. The findings showed that subjective norm (r = 0.88, p < .05) and perceived behavioral control (r = 0.89, p 0.05) was not found to be a statistically significant predictor of intent to implement MTM services. The findings may help healthcare administrators better understand MTM services and institute policies and strategies to improve the implementation of these types of services within the military healthcare system. Considering the recognized benefits of these programs in the civilian and government sectors, strategies that may increase the implementation of these services may improve business practices and the overall patient care within the military healthcare system. For future research, it is recommended to replicate the research using a larger sample with representation from pharmacy personnel from the other branches of the military.