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Credentialing Guidelines and Requirements

A Candidate Guidebook

Medication Therapy Management Assessment-Based Certificate Program

Medication Therapy Management Certificate Program

Scope

PTCB Medication Therapy Management certificate holders have demonstrated their advanced understanding of third-party payers and reimbursement systems utilized within the pharmacy. Individuals who earn the certificate will demonstrate that they not only have the necessary foundational knowledge but are capable of playing a leadership role in this crucial administrative function for a pharmacy, which helps patients access medication.

Eligibility Requirements

A candidate must hold an active PTCB CPhT Certification and complete a PTCB-Recognized Medication Therapy Management Education/Training Program.

Exam

Candidates are required to pass the Medication Therapy Management Exam to earn the PTCB Medication Therapy Management Certificate. The Medication Therapy Management Exam is a computer-based exam with 65 multiple-choice questions. Be prepared to commit 1 hour and 30 minutes for the exam (5-minute tutorial, 1 hour and 20-minute exam, and 5-minute post-exam survey).

Exam Content Outline

The Medication Therapy Management Exam covers several knowledge areas organized into three domains, as shown in the following table.

Medications and Medical Concepts (40%)
Medication strengths/dose, drug class, dosage forms, routes of administration, special handling/storage and administration instructions, and duration of drug therapy.
Interchangeable drug classes and dosage forms (i.e., to identify cost saving opportunities).
Patient-friendly terms for medical terminology.
Definitions of key terms in a medication history process (e.g., medication allergy vs. medication intolerance, medication adherence).
Definitions of key terms for medical history (e.g, medical conditions, social history, immunizations).
Common medication-related problems (e.g., side effects, non adherence, affordability, gap in therapy).
Lab measures (e.g., A1C, potassium, blood pressure) and related medical terms.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance Strategies (36%)
Calculate adherence (e.g., days’ supply, quantity, dose, proportion of days covered).
Systematically review information for accuracy and completeness (e.g., components of MAP, CMR documentation, PMR, required MTM billing fields).
Types of prescribing errors and inappropriate prescribing (e.g., abnormal doses, incorrect strength, incorrect drug, incorrect route of administration, incorrect directions, wrong timing, missing dose).
Potential impact of prescribing errors and medication problems (e.g., inappropriate dosing schedule, inappropriate therapy, duplicate therapy, interactions or conflicting therapies)
MTM Administration & Management (24%)
Definition and purpose of MTM programs and core service elements (medication therapy review (MTR), personal medication record (PMR), medication-related action plan (MAP), intervention and/or referral, documentation and follow-up).
CMS requirements for offering MTM services.
Decision making and prioritization (e.g., recently discharged patients, follow-up versus new outreach, serious errors identified) when tracking stages of service (pending, in progress, complete) and maintaining schedules and timelines for documentation, follow up, and billing for MTM services.

 

Exam Passing Score

A panel of subject-matter experts established a passing score for the Medication Therapy Management Exam using industry best practices. The method used by the panel, as directed by a psychometrician, is the modified-Angoff method. This method requires experts (panel members) to evaluate individual test questions and estimate the percentage of qualified pharmacy technicians that would be able to answer each question correctly. These estimates were analyzed for consistency and averaged to produce the passing score. The passing score and candidate results are reported as scaled scores. The passing scaled score for the Medication Therapy Management Exam is 300. The range of possible scores is 0 to 400.

Advanced Certified Pharmacy Technician Credential

Earning your Medication Therapy Management Certificate takes you one step closer to becoming a PTCB Advanced Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT-Adv). Active PTCB CPhTs who have completed at least four of the certificate programs, or three certificate programs and the Compounded Sterile Preparation Technician (CSPT) Certification, and 3 years of work experience will be eligible to earn a CPhT-Adv credential.