Welcome to Five For Friday. The 2021 PQA Annual Meeting took place this week and it was a resounding success!

1. Participate in the Town Hall Meeting with Micah Cost on May 11. You’ll hear insights on his first 100 days leading PQA and his vision for the future. For part of the event, he’ll be joined by former CMS Administrator Mark McClellan and former CMS Senior Advisory Larry Kocot.
   
   
2. Gain insights on Equity in Medication Use Quality with our general session that will explore the barriers that lead to unfair and avoidable differences in health outcomes and how can we remove them. We’ll hear from a patient, Lilly’s Director of Global Health Literacy and PQA Board member Sharon Jhawar.
   
   
3. Hear about COVID-19’s Impact on Quality with a general session that will share insights on what happened in the market and which changes in care could positively or negatively impact quality in the future.
   
   
4. Hear about the importance of medication quality in patient-centered, team-based care and the role of pharmacists. Our Value-Based Care general session will discuss real-world examples that are shaping the future of care.
   
   
5. Earn 6.0 contact hours of continuing pharmacy education credit. CE is available for all 12 Focused Sessions, and you can attend sessions for credit live or on-demand through June 11.
   
   
6. Sign up for PQA’s Medication Use Quality continuing education and certificate program this month and receive a $50 discount on top of the member rate, as an Annual Meeting attendee. PQA members will receive 15 hours of advanced training for just $175. The code will be shared live with all meeting attendees.
   
   
7. Attend four Innovation Theaters for creative business solutions from four leading vendors: Aspen RxHealth, EnlivenHealth, OutcomesMTM, and Tabula Rasa Healthcare.
   
   
8. Attend a networking reception with PQA Board members and fellow meeting attendees, Wednesday, May 12, at 3:30 p.m. ET.
   
   
9. Relax, do something fun and engage with other PQA members. We have a trivia hour on May 11 at 4:00 p.m. ET and a special musical guest on May 12 at 3:10 p.m. ET.
   
   
10. Attend the Research Symposium on Monday, May 17, to learn about PQA’s work in medication access and SDOH and to see presentations on four PQA-funded projects.

Also, don't forget to visit with our meeting sponsors! During the meeting, you can schedule an appointment or meet with them instantly through convenient Zoom rooms. Their support makes the PQA Annual Meeting possible and together they are among our nation's leaders in improving medication use quality.

PQA is committed to patient-centered principles, including health equity, in our work to improve medication safety, adherence and appropriate use.

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.

PQA is investigating the barriers and facilitators of prescription turnaround time in the specialty pharmacy setting.

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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 programs and events which meet your needs.

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.

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. 

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 tapering patients on long-term opioid therapy (LOT) for chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) in out-patient settings. While the presenters noted more research is needed on the long-term benefits and side effects of opioid tapering, the results thus far have been promising.

Aisha Salman, MPH, a Program Officer at the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), began the conversation with an overview of the organization’s Action Collaborative on Countering the U.S. Opioid Epidemic.

Salman noted the severity of the opioid crisis in the U.S. Over 130 Americans die from an overdose every day, and 2.1 million people suffer from opioid use disorder. The opioid crisis cost $2.5 trillion between 2015 and 2018, and costs have been rapidly rising due to COVID-19.

In response, the NAM Action Collaborative seeks to apply a portfolio approach to address the epidemic, recognizing that no single policy will be enough. Established in 2018, the Action Collaborative is a public-private partnership with more than 60 participating members. The goal is facilitating a cohesive, systems response to the opioid crisis.

“We accomplish more when we work together,” Salman said. “It illustrates the necessity for a systems response to address a public health crisis like the opioid epidemic and underscores the important role that the Action Collaborative plays within this ecosystem.”

The Action Collaborative has four focus areas, each with a designated working group:

As we celebrate Black History Month, I am reminded of one experience that had a profound impact on my view of health access and the pharmacist’s role in addressing medication use quality through team-based care.

Micah Cost, PharmD, MS, is PQA's CEO. Today begins his third week leading the organization. This blog features the message he shared with PQA members on February 1, his first day in charge. Follow Cost and PQA on Twitter for more insights on the organization's daily work to improve medication use 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.