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. Given rapid changes in healthcare, the framework requires modernization to reflect current realities and emerging community needs.
The event is a single in-person, invitation-only convening in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 12, 2026, ahead of the 2026 PQA Annual Meeting. Learn more below.
We also highlight our members’ perspectives on food and health, specialty pharmacy and specialty medications. If you have news you’d like for us to spotlight in an upcoming Five For Friday, send us an email!
— Melissa Castora-Binkley, PhD, PQA Senior Director, Research
Aligning Food, Health and Sustainability
The 2026 Nourishing Change Conference brings together bold thinkers and industry leaders who are reshaping the future of health at the intersection of food, retail, technology, and equity. Meeting host Kroger and many PQA members are speaking at the event, and PQA CEO Micah Cost is a panelist for “What Are We Actually Getting Paid For?,” a June 3 discussion on reimbursement opportunities as retail health, pharmacy, and clinical services expand.
Shifting Emphasis toward Specialty Therapies
IQVIA‘s Scott Biggs shares insights on specialty pharmacy trends. High-cost specialty therapies are no longer waiting their turn at the back of the treatment algorithm. Across multiple disease areas, drugs once reserved for later lines are moving steadily into first- and second-line use, according to several expert industry analysts. The article notes that, in oncology, targeted orals are now about 37% of prescriptions. Related: see this update on PQA’s oncology work.
Facilitating Access to Specialty Medications
Specialty medications are introducing unprecedented complexity in how products are being manufactured, transported and accessed. Cencora and McKesson share insights on how specialty distributors are meeting the greater demand through innovation and coordination across the healthcare supply chain. Each specialty therapy has unique requirements around manufacturing, cold chain management, reimbursement and provider education.
Updating the PQA Medication Access Patient Journey Framework
Given rapid changes in healthcare, the PQA Medication Access Patient Journey requires modernization to reflect current realities and emerging community needs. Developed in 2019, the framework maps key stages where patients seek, obtain, and maintain their medications.
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.
PQA will convene a single in-person, invitation-only convening in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 12, 2026. 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.
Your Next Engagement Opportunities
Network, Learn and Collaborate with PQA
- Save the date to join us at the 2026 PQA Annual Meeting, May 12-14, at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Md. There is still time to join us next week! Learn more.
- Save the date for the 3rd Quarter PQA Member Webinar on July 29, 1-2 p.m. ET. PQA Member Webinars share current quality measurement and research updates with members.
- Save the date for the 2026 PQA Leadership Summit, November 5-6 in Arlington, Va. The summit convenes thought leaders, key decision makers, and quality stakeholders and is an invitation-only event.