Access to Care: Development of a Medication Access Framework for Quality Measurement
PQA developed a Medication Access Framework for Quality Measurement to address the social determinants of health that hinder patient medication access and contribute to poor health outcomes. The framework identifies seven key areas patients encounter while accessing medications and the structural, financial and personal barriers patients face within each. New quality performance measures can be developed based on the framework to evaluate and incentivize appropriate medication access.
The framework describes the cyclical nature of medication access. It begins with a patient’s awareness of an illness or condition and ends with medication adherence. Common barriers patients encounter are noted within each point in the process of accessing medications. Patient health literacy was the most common barrier identified. Other barriers include medication-related costs and insurance.
The framework is the centerpiece of a PQA report, Access to Care: Development of a Medication Access Framework for Quality Measurement. The report is the product of PQA’s Access to Care Roundtable, a multi-stakeholder panel of experts in social determinants of health, healthcare quality improvement and quality performance measurement. The roundtable and report were possible through support from the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC).
Download the Report