Home visits and MTM services

In addition to roles of community pharmacies in patient care, as explained by my fellow student Rick in his post, community pharmacists and senior pharmacy students provide MTM services through home visits.  An MTM service is adopted by different pharmacy schools and community pharmacies. Dr. Katha Bunditanukul at Ruen Ya Drug Store spoke with passion about the potential of community pharmacists to expand health access and provide affordable and convenient services to patients with uncontrolled chronic conditions.

MTM service in Thailand is provided through home visits.  We had the opportunity to shadow pharmacy students on rotation. According to one of the students, patients are referred by a community leader. The community leader is any individual who is knowledgeable about the residents in certain areas and their health & economic condition.

Pharmacy students are reconciling this patients' medications during their first home visit.
**Patient and students consented to taking and publishing this picture.

During the visit, students conduct a comprehensive interview about life style, medication use, herbal product use, nutrition, and any other chief complaints the patients might have. In addition, students perform assessment tests such as blood pressure, glucose, and foot exam. Depending on the patients’ conditions, students can provide recommendations, schedule future visits, or refer patients to the hospital.

I asked one of the patients we visited about her experience with pharmacy services, and she said she’s satisfied and very grateful for the students.

During our visit to the pharmacy, Dr. Katha Bunditanukul explained the role of community pharmacists in providing smoking cessation. Lung cancer is one of the most prevalent types of cancer and men are mostly affected by it. Dr. Katha Bunditanukul mentions that patients are most likely to seek help with quitting from a pharmacist than from the psychiatry unit where smoking cessation programs are commonly provided.