PQA will convene an in-person event that brings together patient advocates, community-based organizations, health plans, health systems, pharmacies, clinicians, and researchers. The goal of the workshop is to generate targeted, actionable insights to update and enhance the PQA Medication Access Patient Journey framework. Developed in 2019, the framework maps key stages where patients seek, obtain, and maintain their medications. It highlights common barriers and opportunities to improve access and continuity of care.
Given rapid changes in healthcare, the framework requires modernization to reflect current realities and emerging community needs. Rising medication costs, the rapid expansion of digital care, workforce shortages, and shifting insurance structures have intensified longstanding access barriers for patients.
At the same time, prior authorization requirements have increased, and pharmacy closures, particularly in low-income and rural areas, have accelerated, leaving millions with fewer access points. Communities with limited resources, high chronic disease burden, and unstable insurance coverage encounter friction at every stage of the medication use process. These pressures have produced a fragmented, complex system that is difficult to navigate and further worsens disparities for underserved populations.
Updating the framework is essential to address these widening gaps and account for new challenges patients face. A modernized approach will embed equity considerations and supports patient-centered pathways that simplify navigation and improve affordability.
Through this convening event, PQA will elevate community voices at scale, ensure solutions reflect lived experience and community priorities, and advance equitable, patient-centered approaches to medication access. This model ensures that future solutions are grounded in community insights and designed to meaningfully reduce disparities.
The event is a single in-person, invitation-only convening in Baltimore, Maryland on May 12, 2026.