Pharmacy characteristics associated with the provision of drug therapy services in nonmetropolitan community pharmacies.

CONTEXT: Higher prevalence of chronic diseases and reduced access to other health professionals in rural areas suggest that rural Medicare enrollees will benefit from pharmacist-provided drug therapy services (DTS). PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe non-metropolitan community pharmacy sites in Wisconsin, the provision of DTS at these sites, and to identify factors associated with provision of DTS. METHODS: A cross-sectional, descriptive survey design was used to collect primary data in 2005. The manager/owner listed for each of the 279 non-metropolitan community pharmacy sites in Wisconsin was surveyed using an 8-page instrument. The 7 drug therapy services that key informants were asked to report on included 6 disease state management (DSM) programs and medication therapy management services (MTMS). Descriptive statistics were calculated for variables describing the pharmacy sites and how DTS were provided. Logistic regression was performed, with any drug therapy service provision as the dependent variable and 8 independent variables. FINDINGS: The response rate to the survey was 44%. Overall, 31% of the respondent pharmacies offered MTMS and 31% offered DSM programs. Higher service orientation, location in a more rural area, and lower workload per pharmacist were significantly positively related to provision of any DTS. CONCLUSIONS: Conducted 4 months prior to the implementation of Medicare Part D, the results serve as a baseline against which the effects of Part D on MTMS provision may be evaluated. The negative association of pharmacist workload with pharmacy provision of DTS, coupled with the current pharmacist shortage, has important implications for patients' access to these services in rural areas.