Researchers from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), led by Satya Surbhi, PhD, associate professor of Medicine and director of the Gehr Family Center for Health Systems Science and Innovation, have received a $3.5 million grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) for a study addressing system-level barriers to improve medication adherence among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations in Tennessee.
The Medication Affordability, Accessibility, and Availability in Care Transitions (Med AAAction) Study is a pharmacy-led care transitions intervention. It involves 388 Medicaid and uninsured hospital inpatients with multiple chronic conditions from three large Tennessee non-profit health care systems including Regional One Health in Memphis, the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, and Ballad Health Johnson City Medical Center in Johnson City. Inpatients will be provided free medications, medication delivery, and care coordination to improve health outcomes and patient experience. These interventions will be tested for their effectiveness in improving medication adherence and reducing hospitalizations, emergency department use, and costs among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.
“Vulnerable patients experience major gaps in care after transitions from hospital to community setting,” said Dr. Surbhi, who is also director of measurement and reporting for the Tennessee Population Health Consortium. “Thus, my long-term goal is to demonstrate the effectiveness of a care transitions adherence intervention model for vulnerable populations that can be readily adopted and sustained by health care delivery systems across the U.S.”
Read more at our UTHSC news site.