​Annual Monitoring for Patients on Persistent Medications (MPM)

Measure Definition

The Annual Monitoring for Patients on Persistent Medications (MPM) measure assesses the percentage of members 18 years of age and older who received at least 180 treatment days of ambulatory medication therapy for a select therapeutic agent during the measurement year and at least one serum potassium and either a serum creatinine or a blood urea nitrogen therapeutic monitoring test in the measurement year. For each product line, rates are reported separately.

• Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB).
• Digoxin.
• Diuretics.​
  

Importance

Patient safety is highly important, especially for patients at increased risk of adverse medication events from long-term medication use. Persistent use of these medications warrants monitoring and follow-up by the prescribing provider to assess for side-effects and adjust medication dosage accordingly. The medications included in this measure also have more detrimental effects in the elderly. The costs of annual monitoring are offset by the reduction in health care costs associated with complications arising from lack of monitoring and follow-up of patients on long-term medications. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the total costs of medication-related problems due to misuse of medications in the ambulatory setting has been estimated to exceed $76 billion annually. Appropriate monitoring of medication therapy remains a significant issue to guide therapeutic decision making and provides largely unmet opportunities for improvement in care for patients on persistent medications.

To see how Managed Care reported on Annual Monitoring for Patients on Persistent Medications, click here.