All Articles: Slice of PIE Blog

Ensuring consistency in patient-centered delivery of comprehensive medication management (CMM) across the 12 organizations and over 30 pharmacists is one of the most important components to Slice of PIE.

The HealthPartners Partners in Excellence (PIE) program provides an opportunity to sustainably provide direct patient care, expand patient-centered care approaches and expand access to care through community pharmacies.

In Slice of PIE, 12 community pharmacy organizations representing over 100 pharmacies in Minnesota are working together to improve individual health and demonstrate economic value.

“What does implementation science (IS) have to do with PIE?” We’re so glad you asked! Though it has less to do with the delicious culinary creation than one might like, it will be vital to the success of the Slice of PIE initiative. 

University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and HealthPartners have formed a partnership to facilitate a learning and action collaborative around the delivery of medication therapy management (MTM) services for HealthPartners Partners in Excellence Program (PIE).

“Slice of PIE” is not just a triangular wedge of crusted fruit filling. For 13 Minnesota community pharmacy organizations, “Slice of PIE” is also the name of a learning collaborative.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the ability to provide in-person CMM services and therefore made it more difficult for pharmacists to collect the clinical data needed from their patients.

Value-based care models in community pharmacies are advancing through exciting new channels in Minnesota. In addition to the work of Slice of PIE, the Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network of Minnesota (CPESN-MN) is making moves through its second cycle of the Flip the Pharmacy (FtP) initiative.

Slice of PIE takes its name from the “Partners in Excellence” (PIE) program, which recognizes outstanding contributions to patient health within a defined health plan. Slice of PIE is a separate but related research and learning collaborative, supporting community pharmacists in their efforts to improve patient health through chronic care management and optimized medication use.

HealthPartners is an integrated health plan offering comprehensive medication management (CMM) under a value-based care model called Partners in Excellence (PIE). In PIE, participating organizations are incentivized to conduct CMM visits and are eligible for bonus payments if they achieve quality and engagement metrics. Semi-structured, one-on-one qualitative interviews were conducted with a group of 14 pharmacists and pharmacy managers to evaluate the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of the PIE program from their perspective.