Posts for Category: PQA Blogs

PQA offers a variety of student and post-graduate programs, including experiential rotations, internships and fellowships. Each is focused on providing healthcare quality experience to diverse individuals from diverse disciplines. Deadlines for our 2022-23 programs are quickly approaching. Applications are due December 1 for the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiential Rotation and the Summer Executive Internship, sponsored […]

PQA follows a systematic, transparent and consensus-based development process to ensure that measures are important, scientifically acceptable, feasible and usable. This approach produces strong, consistent results, but it also takes time.   From the initial stages of convening a technical expert panel to the final stages of achieving PQA endorsement, measure development can last 12 to 24 months or longer, depending on the complexity of […]

The fourth quarter every year is a busy time in PQA’s measure development work. We’re often nearing completion of new measures and planning for the next year, which includes creating or renewing development panels and finalizing the next edition of the PQA Measure Manual This year is no exception. We’re taking nominations for the Quality […]

Collaboration is one of PQA’s greatest attributes, and our measure development process is a prime example of how our diverse member  organizations reach consensus on evaluating medication use quality. This week, we opened a public comment period on three measures that are being considered for endorsement, two measures for retirement, and four measure concepts for potential […]

Dave Hachey, PharmD, is one of PQA’s expert faculty for the new 3-hour continuing education course, Measuring Quality to Improve HIV Medication Use. Hachey is a Professor of Family Medicine at Idaho State University. He has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of HIV and family medicine, as well as more than 10 years of experience in hepatitis C management. In addition to discussing treatment and prevention […]

The PQA Quality Forum Webinar is a regular, recurring series on healthcare quality topics with a focus on medication use and medication services. It is a forum for educating and engaging with PQA members and quality-focused healthcare professionals. PQA’s August 19, 2021, Quality Forum welcomed Anthony V. Minniti, RPh, FACA, from Bell Pharmacy in Camden, […]

PQA offers a competitive Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiential (APPE) Rotation for pharmacy students, which provides experiential learning opportunities in non-profit association management, medication use quality education, communications, research and performance measurement. PQA works with individual students to align their rotation experience with desired career goals and interests. Applications for the 2022-23 year are now being accepted. You can apply here. Visit our Student Programs page for more information.  Aneesh Asokan and Shiyar Kapan […]

PQA’s Board of Directors represents a diverse group of thought leaders and experts in healthcare, who understand how medication optimization improves patient outcomes and supports a value-based care system. Their expertise helps PQA advance the safe and appropriate use of medicines. This blog is one in a series profiling PQA’s Board members. Anne Burns, BSPharm, RPh, is PQA’s […]

The PQA Leadership Summit is just six weeks away! You don’t want to miss this dynamic, hands-on meeting that will shape PQA’s strategic plan for the next four years. Our first in-person meeting in two years, this is a prime opportunity to reconnect with your fellow quality leaders and build new relationships.  During the summit, we […]

PQA’s talented staff is dedicated to improving medication safety, adherence and appropriate use. As experts in measure development, research, education and convening, they lead the implementation of PQA’s quality initiatives support better medication use and high-quality care. This blog is one in a series profiling PQA’s staff. Richard Schmitz is PQA’s Chief Engagement Officer. He […]

The Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) developed the “Medication Access Framework for Quality Measurement”  to address the social determinants of health (SDOH) that hinder patient medication access and contribute to poor health outcomes. Released in March 2019, the framework identifies seven key areas patients encounter while accessing medications and the structural, financial and personal barriers patients […]

PQA has expanded its student and professional programs this year, including the addition of the MPH Practicum Program. PQA’s student and professional programs provide value experience in project management and communication. All students and early-career professionals gain valuable experience in healthcare quality, measure development and stewardship, research and education in a non-profit association setting. PQA works with each learner to align their experience with desired career goals and interests.   […]

PQA hosted a November 2019 national forum, Caring for the Whole Patient, to showcase emerging best practices to address the social determinants of health (SDOH) and the role of pharmacists. Building on the forum and PQA’s other work, PQA is developing an SDOH Resource Guide and accepting contributions for the first edition through September 30. This is […]

PQA has developed a new, 3-hour continuing education (CE) course, “Measuring Quality to Improve HIV Medication Use.” The course can be taken independently or as part of PQA’s 15-hour Medication Use Quality online CE and certificate program.  The course provides advanced training on HIV-related measurement and strategies to improve medication safety, adherence and appropriate use. […]

PQA hosted a November 2019 national forum, Caring for the Whole Patient, to showcase emerging best practices to address the social determinants of health (SDOH) and the role of pharmacists. Building on the forum and PQA’s other work, PQA is developing an SDOH Resource Guide and accepting contributions for the first edition through September 30. This is […]

PQA hosted a November 2019 national forum, Caring for the Whole Patient, to showcase emerging best practices to address the social determinants of health (SDOH) and the role of pharmacists. Building on the forum and PQA’s other work, PQA is developing an SDOH Resource Guide and accepting contributions for the first edition through September 30. […]

Addressing a Quality Improvement Need   HIV is a complex disease, and prevention and treatment of HIV have been promoted through widespread public health campaigns. Despite clinical training, HIV treatment and prevention is commonplace among didactic curricula and continuing education. This course is unique in its approach of integrating quality measurement and HIV treatment and prevention by helping the learner better understand how their practice […]

PQA is investigating the impact of social determinants of health (SDOH) on pharmacy and medication access by using a multi-stakeholder perspective to analyze current gaps in knowledge and interventions that currently exist in pharmacy settings. Social determinants of health (SDOH) have gained increasing recognition in the healthcare field, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus […]

What is the impact of the three medication adherence measures used in the Medicare Part D Star Ratings program? Enormous. The 2021 National Impact Assessment of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Measures Report, released in June, estimates that $27–$46.6 billion in health care costs were avoided for Medicare beneficiaries between 2013-18 […]

The PQA Quality Forum Webinar is a recurring series on healthcare quality topics which focus on medication use and medication services. The quality forum creates an opportunity for education and engagement with PQA members and quality-focused healthcare professionals. PQA’s August 5, 2021, Quality Forum brought together a panel of thought leaders from a PQA-Community Pharmacy […]

This fall and into 2022, there are numerous opportunities for PQA members to participate in our measure development process. As a consensus-based and member-driven organization, this is the moment for you and your organization to inform and influence decisions on measures across the development and stewardship continuum. Read more about the opportunities below. This week, we […]

This fall and into 2022, there are numerous opportunities for PQA members to participate in our measure development process. As a consensus-based and member-driven organization, this is the moment for you and your organization to inform and influence decisions on measures across the development and stewardship continuum. Here’s what’s coming up soon. Information on each of these […]

A 2021 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services report for PQA’s three adherence measures showed the economic benefits of medication adherence in Medicare Part D, with an estimated $27-$46.6 billion health care costs avoided over a five-year period. We’ll share analysis of this report soon, but you can access it below and see the letter […]

This guest blog is one in a series by sponsors of the 2021 PQA Annual Meeting on emerging trends in medication use quality. The views shared in this series are those of the author and do not reflect any PQA positions. A major focus of the healthcare industry has been to create efficiencies that deliver […]

PQA is developing standard pharmacy performance measures that would be appropriate for pharmacy accountability, once assessed against standard measure criteria and endorsed by PQA members. We have four measure concepts in development and one has already moved to testing. We’re also wrapping up a project with the Community Pharmacy Foundation (CPF) to build consensus on additional […]

PQA is a non-profit organization with 250 diverse members across healthcare. Our members include community and specialty pharmacy organizations, pharmacists and other healthcare providers, pharmacies, health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, life sciences, technology vendors, government agencies, health information technology partners, researchers, accrediting organizations and academia. New organizations regularly join PQA throughout the year. This blog […]

This guest blog is one in a series by sponsors of the 2021 PQA Annual Meeting on emerging trends in medication use quality. The views shared in this series are those of the author and do not reflect any PQA positions. Achieving health equity Health inequity among our communities is a fact hard to ignore. At […]

his guest blog is one in a series by sponsors of the 2021 PQA Annual Meeting on emerging trends in medication use quality. The views shared in this series are those of the author and do not reflect any PQA positions. Now is the most important time in history to be a pharmacist. When the […]

PQA provides healthcare quality experience to students from a wide variety of disciplines. This summer, we are hosting five students through our internship and MPH practicum programs. They are adding medication safety, adherence and appropriate use experience to their professional training. We recently invited them to answer five questions about the work they are doing, where […]

PQA is developing a social determinants of health (SDOH) resource guide that will document real-world SDOH services, including screening, referring or intervening, conducted by or involving pharmacists or pharmacies. The guide will provide details on interventions that are promising for improving the quality and safety of medication use. We need your help to identify promising […]

PQA is developing a social determinants of health (SDOH) resource guide that will document real-world SDOH services, including screening, referring or intervening, conducted by or involving pharmacists or pharmacies. The guide will provide details on interventions that are promising for improving the quality and safety of medication use. We need your help to identify promising […]

The PQA Quality Forum Webinar is a recurring series on healthcare quality topics which focus on medication use and medication services. The quality forum creates an opportunity for education and engagement with PQA members and quality-focused healthcare professionals. PQA’s June 10, 2021, Quality Forum discussed the voice of patients in medication therapy management (MTM). Experts […]

As a member driven organization, people are what makes PQA great and effective in building consensus to advance medication use quality. PQA is a rare association where different and often competing sectors work together towards a common goal — improving patient care and outcomes. We recently launched a new blog series to profile our member […]

Alexis Caronis is the 2021-22 PQA Executive Fellow. She is a PharmD graduate from the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy. Caronis joined PQA June 1 and has hit the ground running with support for PQA’s social determinants of health initiatives and student programs.   What drew you to PQA and the Executive Fellowship program? […]

PQA’s Board of Directors represents a diverse group of thought leaders and experts in healthcare, who understand how medication optimization improves patient outcomes and supports a value-based care system. Their expertise helps PQA advance the safe and appropriate use of medicines. This blog is one in a series profiling PQA’s Board members.  Mike Duteau, RPh, […]

The PQA Quality Forum Webinar is a regular, recurring series on healthcare quality topics with a focus on medication use and medication services. It is a forum for educating and engaging with PQA members and quality-focused healthcare professionals. PQA’s April 22, 2021, Quality Forum welcomed a panel of experts to discuss implementation of sustainable social determinants […]

Welcome to Five For Friday! The 2021 PQA Annual Meeting marked my 100th day as CEO on May 12. During the meeting, I shared my thoughts on PQA’s future. My three-part vision has been shaped through many discussions with our Board of Directors, our members and our staff, and I am excited to share this with […]

“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” That sage wisdom imparted by John Muir, the renowned 19th century mountaineer, naturalist and father of the National Parks is a perfect statement for reflecting on the future for PQA. PQA will continue to develop and steward health plan […]

PQA’s talented staff is dedicated to improving medication safety, adherence and appropriate use. As experts in measure development, research, education and convening, they lead the implementation of PQA’s quality initiatives support better medication use and high-quality care. This blog is one in a series profiling PQA’s staff.  Lisa Hines, PharmD, CPHQ, is PQA’s Chief Quality and Innovation […]

Welcome to Five For Friday. The 2021 PQA Annual Meeting took place this week and it was a resounding success! Over three days, hundreds of PQA members gathered to learn, network and engage. The depth and quality of the presentations and the insights shared through panel discussions and Q&A sessions was fantastic — and that’s […]

The PQA Annual Meeting is next week, Tuesday, May 11, through Thursday, May 13, with a companion Research Symposium on Monday, May 17. This year’s meeting has more than 50 educational, networking and entertainment sessions or events. You can register at any time to attend and, if you miss any sessions, they’re available to all […]

PQA is committed to patient-centered principles, including health equity, in our work to improve medication safety, adherence and appropriate use. Our commitment is on display next Wednesday, May 12, in our Annual Meeting general session on “Equity in Medication Use Quality.” We will hear directly from Deen Allen, an African American man and multiple sclerosis […]

Welcome to Five For Friday. We are less two weeks away from the 2021 PQA Annual Meeting, May 11-13. Today, April 30, is the last day to receive the discount registration rate. The meeting kicks off with a Town Hall hosted by CEO Micah Cost. He’ll share insights from his first 100 days leading PQA, share his vision for the […]

PQA is investigating the barriers and facilitators of prescription turnaround time in the specialty pharmacy setting. It’s an important issue because prompt treatment initiation is essential for optimal management of complex conditions. Specialty pharmacy prescription turnaround time commonly refers to the time between a specialty pharmacy receiving a new prescription and that prescription being ready […]

Welcome to the fourth edition of Five For Friday. We are less than one month away from the 2021 PQA Annual Meeting, May 11-13. We’re disappointed we can’t gather in person, but excited about the program we’ve assembled. We’ll present 15 educational sessions that will equip you for success as we emerge from the COVID pandemic. […]

PQA’s education programs are designed to expand knowledge and develop medication use quality skills. Our Medication Use Quality CE program, our Annual Meeting and the monthly Quality Forum Webinar series are just three of the ways we showcase best practices and novel approaches to improving medication safety, adherence and appropriate use. Pharmacists and other health […]

Welcome to the third edition of Five For Friday. As I reflect on my first two months as your CEO, I am pleased to share that my two primary assumptions about PQA have proven to be true.  First, our membership is incredibly broad, diverse and essential to PQA’s success. As our members, you are our […]

PQA’s Board of Directors represents a diverse group of thought leaders and experts in healthcare, who understand how medication optimization improves patient outcomes and supports a value-based care system. Their expertise helps PQA advance the safe and appropriate use of medicines. This blog is one in a series profiling PQA’s Board members.  Jerry Penso, MD, […]

PQA is a non-profit organization with 250 diverse members across healthcare. Our members include community and specialty pharmacy organizations, pharmacists and other healthcare providers, pharmacies, health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, life sciences, technology vendors, government agencies, health information technology partners, researchers, accrediting organizations and academia. New organizations regularly join PQA throughout the year. This blog […]

The nation’s leading health care organizations come together through PQA to improve medication access, adherence, safety and appropriate use. Our work is essential for high-quality, value-based care.  We celebrate our individual and collective efforts to improve patient care and outcomes. This week, we’re sharing three ways our members are addressing the needs of underserved populations in […]

It’s my pleasure to personally invite you to join us at the 2021 PQA Annual Meeting, which will take place online, May 11-13. While we are all looking forward to the time when we can meet together face-to-face, we are excited to continue to host this important meeting virtually and provide you with high-quality educational […]

PQA endorsed two new diabetes-focused health plan performance measures in December 2020. More than 34 million Americans have diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These measures will help evaluate the quality of care for a disease that annually costs America $327 billion. Ben Shirley, PQA’s associate director of performance measurement, provides insights in this Q&A […]

The nation’s leading health care organizations come together through PQA to improve medication access, adherence, safety and appropriate use. Our work is essential for high-quality, value-based care.  We celebrate our individual and collective efforts to improve patient care and outcomes. Every other Friday, we will share three examples of our members’ exemplary work, a high-impact PQA […]

PQA has published the 2021 PQA Measure Manual and Value Sets. The PQA Measure Manual includes the specifications for PQA measures for measurement year 2020. The manual provides guidelines and detailed specifications, which are needed to implement the measures accurately and appropriately. PQA measures are use in a variety of federal, state, and regional quality […]

The PQA Quality Forum Webinar is a regular, recurring series on healthcare quality topics with a focus on medication use and medication services. It is a forum for educating and engaging with PQA members and quality-focused healthcare professionals. PQA’s January 21, 2021, Quality Forum welcomed a panel of experts to discuss best practices to support […]

by Kate Starr The PQA Quality Forum Webinar is a regular, recurring series on healthcare quality topics with a focus on medication use and medication services. It is a forum for educating and engaging with PQA members and quality-focused healthcare professionals. PQA held an October 15, 2020, webinar on Pharmacist-conducted Immunization Assessment and Documentation. The […]

by Lynn Pezzullo, RPh, CPEHR Pharmacists and their pharmacy teams bring immense value to patients, and now more than ever, are a critical part of the health care delivery system. Quality measures are important tools to monitor and drive improvement, which also can quantify the impact pharmacy services have on patients’ health. As community pharmacies […]

by Laura Cranston As today marks my final day at PQA in the role of CEO, I have taken some time to reflect on the past 15 years, and the opportunity that was presented to me in 2006 to build and lead a multi-stakeholder organization, the Pharmacy Quality Alliance. We set out to build a […]

PQA has created a new Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Resource Guide that profiles real-world SDOH services that are promising for improving the quality and safety of medication use with a focus on screenings, referrals and interventions conducted by or involving pharmacists or pharmacies. Richard Schmitz, PQA’s Chief Engagement Officer, provides insights on the guide, […]

by Laura Cranston PQA’s Strategic Plan for 2021 is focused on three, timely initiatives for medication use quality: the social determinants of health, innovative pathways for measure development, and immunization services. PQA’s Strategic Plans historically have covered three-year periods. Our current plan will reach its successful conclusion at the end of 2020. As we contemplated […]

by Kate Starr Anna Legreid Dopp, Senior Director of Clinical Guidelines and Quality Improvement at ASHP, spoke at PQA’s Data and Interoperability Advisory Group (DIAG) meeting on June 22. She discussed Electronic Clinical Quality Measures (eCQMs) and how we can use them to start thinking about pharmacy measures. ASHP is the organization that represents pharmacists […]

by Kate Starr Amber Baybayan, a Senior Clinical Services Associate at OutcomesMTM, spoke at PQA’s Data and Interoperability Advisory Group (DIAG) meeting on June 22. She discussed data integration in medication therapy management. This blog provides an overview of Baybayan’s presentation. You can view a recording of the DIAG meeting and read more about it […]

by Kate Starr Shelly Spiro, Executive Director at Pharmacy HIT Collaborative, spoke at PQA’s Data and Interoperability Advisory Group (DIAG) meeting on June 22. She discussed the importance of data standards for collecting and sharing information about pharmacist-provided patient care and services. This blog provides an overview of Spirio’s presentation. You can view a recording […]

by Kate Starr Josh Howland, Vice President of Clinical Strategy at PioneerRX, provided a presentation on the Pharmacist eCare Plan (Plan) at PQA’s Data and Interoperability Advisory Group (DIAG) meeting on June 22. This blog provides an overview of Howland’s presentation. You can view a recording of the DIAG meeting and read more about it […]

CPESN® USA is the Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network. It is a clinically integrated network of community pharmacies that coordinates patient care with broader care teams to provide medication optimization activities and enhanced services for high-risk patients.  At PQA’s Data and Interoperability Advisory Group (DIAG) meeting on June 22, Cody Clifton, Director of Practice Transformation at […]

Data are the lifeblood of quality improvement. Evaluating quality and comparing providers or organizations requires consistent, reliable data – and you need access to that data. Unfortunately, in our fractured health care system, data is collected differently and inconsistently across a host of important health care issues. And, to make matters more challenging, getting access […]

by Richard Schmitz The 2020 PQA Leadership Summit was a one-day, online event, November 5, focused on the social determinants of health. The event engaged summit attendees to help PQA determine the scope and focus of an SDOH resource guide that PQA will develop in 2021. PQA is focused on SDOH interventions that hold promise […]

by Freshta Rosario PQA is a non-profit organization with 250 diverse members across healthcare. Our members include community and specialty pharmacy organizations, pharmacists and other healthcare providers, pharmacies, health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, life sciences, technology vendors, government agencies, health information technology partners, researchers, accrediting organizations and academia. New organizations regularly join PQA throughout the […]

by Richard Schmitz PQA is a non-profit organization with 250 diverse members across healthcare. Our members include community and specialty pharmacy organizations, pharmacists and other healthcare providers, pharmacies, health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, life sciences, technology vendors, government agencies, health information technology partners, researchers, accrediting organizations and academia. New organizations regularly join PQA throughout the […]

by Richard Schmitz Sachin Jain, MD, MBA, FACP, is President and CEO of SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan. A nationally recognized innovator in health care, Jain joined SCAN this summer, where he is focused on pioneering new ways of improving quality and maintaining affordability for older adults. Jain will participate in the opening discussion […]

by Richard Schmitz Lisa Hines is PQA’s Vice President for Performance Measurement. She provides strategic direction for PQA’s performance measurement initiatives, including PQA’s approach to developing quality measures. Hines participated in a recent Quality Corner Show podcast to discuss PQA’s measure development process, which was recently updated. The podcast is hosted by Pharmacy Quality Solutions, […]

by Laurel Glenn, PMP, CPCM The PQA Quality Forum Webinar is a regular, recurring series on healthcare quality topics with a focus on medication use and medication services. It is a forum for educating and engaging with PQA members and quality-focused healthcare professionals. On March 12, 2020, Lucas Schulz, PharmD, BCIDP, an Infectious Diseases Clinical […]

by Brittany Jennings PQA, the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and Janssen Scientific Affairs have collaborated to jointly host a “Postdoctoral Fellowship in Real World Evidence, Population Health, and Quality Research.” The two-year fellowship aims to prepare an individual for a career in healthcare quality-related outcomes research. The inaugural fellow is Sabree Burbage, PharmD, MPH, a University of North […]

by Laurel Glenn, PMP, CPCM The PQA Healthcare Quality Innovation Challenge (HQIC) is an annual national collegiate competition where student teams present technology-enabled solutions to improve healthcare quality. With the support of a faculty or pharmacy professional mentor, participating student teams develop a business summary proposal for their solution to one of three prompts provided […]

by Chris Kotschevar Our nation’s universities and academic institutions educate and train the healthcare quality workforce. More than 40 colleges and schools of pharmacy are PQA members and they are important partners in our work to advance medication use quality, especially in education. I want to highlight three important opportunities for our academic members to […]

by Richard Schmitz PQA is developing a set of standard pharmacy performance measures that would be appropriate for pharmacy accountability. This work began in early 2019 in response to interest from our members and policymakers in standard measures to evaluate the quality of pharmacies and assess pharmacist-provided care and pharmacy-based services. The focus of PQA’s […]

by Richard Schmitz PQA offers a new online continuing education and certificate program on Medication Use Quality. The program provides advanced training on quality measurement and strategies to improve medication safety, adherence and appropriate use. Pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, nurses and physicians can earn 15 accredited continuing education hours through the program.   The program empowers healthcare […]

by Emily Brock The PQA Quality Forum Webinar is a regular, recurring series on healthcare quality topics with a focus on medication use and medication services. It is a forum for educating and engaging with PQA members and quality-focused healthcare professionals. Interest in telehealth has skyrocketed with the COVID-19 and many advocates hope it will […]

Pharmacist-provided care, as a part of patient-centered team-based care, has an important role to play in improving access to care, patient experiences and health outcomes. The COVID crisis has multiplied the importance and urgency of access to high-quality care, especially among vulnerable populations and individuals with hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and other chronic conditions. These […]

Chris Kotschevar is the 2020-21 PQA Executive Fellow. He is a PharmD graduate from South Dakota State University College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions. Kotschevar joined PQA in June and has hit the ground running, helping to finalize and launch projects such as PQA’s Medication Use Quality continuing education and certificate program and the […]

Statement by PQA CEO Laura Cranston, RPh “After 15 years of leading PQA from a start-up organization to the nation’s only organization solely dedicated to optimizing health by advancing the quality of medication use, I will step down as CEO by the end of the year. This is a planned transition that will ensure PQA’s […]

Every session from the 2020 PQA Annual Meeting is now available to be viewed on demand in PQA’s new Education Center. Access to these recordings is available exclusively to individuals who registered to attend the meeting and PQA members. If you registered to attend the meeting, check your email for details on how to access […]

The PQA Annual Meeting continues on May 28 with the first of five weekly one-hour online sessions. Each week features a new educational session and an innovation theater, which is a commercial showcase of an organization’s innovations, technology, services or research. All sessions take place on the 2020 PQA Annual Meeting website. Use the same […]

The 2020 PQA Annual Meeting Poster Session will be presented online May 6 and 7 through two one-hour events. Our members have been hard at work developing the research that will be presented during the Poster Session, and we’re happy to provide a platform for showcasing their work! The Poster Session is open to all Annual […]

by Richard Schmitz The 2020 PQA Annual Meeting starts in two weeks on Wednesday, May 13. If you haven’t made plans to join us, register today! All of the meeting sessions you would experience at our in-person meeting will be delivered online.  The meeting takes place May 13-15 through five 90-minute sessions. If you can’t be […]

by Richard Schmitz PQA announced on Monday that the National Quality Forum has endorsed three PQA risk-adjusted adherence measures. These measures are used in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Part D Star Ratings Program, and they evaluate adherence to medications for diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol. The updated measures include a valid […]

As the nation’s most accessible health care professionals — and through telehealth — pharmacists are being empowered to provide critical patient services; however, this work is not without risk, which also needs to be addressed. PQA members are advocating for and supporting pharmacists as our health system’s medication experts. They are: PQA Members in Action […]

Drug Shortages – and COVID-19 Early refills, drug substitutions, off-label use and supply chain interruptions may all contribute to drug shortages sparked by the COVID-19 crisis. PQA members are anticipating and responding to potential drug shortages. Here are some of the ways they’re taking action. This list is far from exhaustive and will be updated […]

Access to Care Social distancing, unemployment and current or anticipated financial difficulties for millions of Americans are affecting access to care and access to medications. PQA members are taking steps to overcome and eliminate the barriers that reduce patient access to care during the COVID crisis. Those efforts include: PQA Members in Action America’s Health […]

Every PQA member is involved in the fight against COVID-19, which is affecting every aspect of healthcare, including medication use quality. PQA wants to share with you some of the ways our member are addressing COVID challenges as the relate to: This week, we will debut an individual blog post dedicated to each of these three areas. […]

Laura Cranston, RPhPQA Chief Executive Officer The COVID-19 crisis is greatly affecting medication use, services and quality. Early refills, potential shortages, drug substitutions, reduced clinical visits and looming financial challenges for patients will all have an impact on medication adherence, patient outcomes and quality measure performance. At the same time, the expansion of telehealth services […]

PQA is launching a blog. It’s a new information channel to keep you updated on our work — in measure development, research, education and convening. We will share new information, additional commentaries and context for our initiatives to improve medication safety and appropriate use. If you have suggestions for topics, let us know: communications@PQAalliance.org. Also, […]