Measuring Quality to Improve HIV Medication Use: A New Continuing Education Course

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 can improve the quality of HIV care. This new 3-hour continuing education (CE) course can be taken independently or as part of PQA’s 15-hour Medication Use Quality online CE and certificate program. This activity was supported by an independent medical education grant from Merck & Co. PQA is grateful for Merck's support of our quality improvement education programs.

A Course Overview 

This 3-hour course was designed to provide participants with practical tools and experiences to begin improving the quality of HIV care upon completion of the program. The course outlines medication use quality in HIV treatment and prevention, allowing for professional development in this clinical area. Background content will include discussions about population health impacts on HIV and a pharmacotherapy overview. Finally, this course will be rounded out with content on current HIV quality measures that are used and current gaps in HIV quality measurementleading to discussions of future areas for development and implementation of quality measures relating to HIV treatment and prevention. A patient case will be the highlight of this active learning component since the focus of this content is clinical in nature. 

Ideal Course Participants  

This course is nationally accredited for pharmacists, physicians, nurses, and pharmacy technicians. It is applicable for any healthcare professional that works with patients living with HIV, and students interested in working in quality improvement or with patients with HIV 

Physicians, physician assistants and nurses in many states are required to complete some HIV-focused trainings as part of their professional continuing education requirements. Additionally, pharmacists pursuing HIV specific credentials can benefit from this CE course. 

Our Expert Program Faculty 

Charles John Gonzalez, MD, has contributed to the development of HIV medical guidelines for over 15 years. Gonzalez works with the New York State’s End the Epidemic Blueprint to expand the Treatment as Prevention initiative. In this module, Gonzalez teaches course participants about HIV population health providing insightful historical context and strategies behind the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative. Key concepts such as virological properties and common comorbidities are discussed.   

Dave Hachey, PharmD, provides an overview of HIV treatment and prevention. Upon graduating from University of Rhode Island, Hachey completed a two-year fellowship in Family Medicine at Idaho State University. Hachey currently serves as a Professor of Family Medicine at Idaho State University. He has 20+ years of experience in the fields of HIV and Family Medicine, as well as over 10 years of experience in hepatitis C management. In addition to discussing treatment and prevention modalities, Hachey outlines key indicators for the successful treatment of HIV.  

Ben Shirley, CPHQ, is the Director of Performance Measurement at PQA. Shirley’s experience includes developing, submitting, and presenting clinical evidence, and testing results for new measuresas well as managing maintenance of PQA’s measure portfolio. Shirley also supports implementation initiatives of PQA quality measures through various projects and collaborations.  

For 20 years, Jennifer Knight, FNP, MPH, has been providing HIV care. Knight has extensive experience in coordinating and implementing quality improvement initiatives and expanded access programs. Additionally, Knight served as a Quality Improvement Consultant to NYSDOH AIDS Institute for seven years.  

Together Shirley and Knight co-teach participants the third and fourth module in the HIV elective. The third module, Current HIV Quality Landscape, opens with Shirley discussing the current HIV quality measures. Knight then demonstrates HIV quality improvement in practice with examples of projects implemented at her practice site. In the fourth module, Shirley discusses gaps in HIV quality measurement, and Knight outlines opportunities to improve HIV prevention efforts.  

Program Cost and Details 

The 3-hour HIV course is $60 for members and $90 for non-membersIf you want to complete the full Medication Use Quality certificate program with the HIV elective, the price for members is $225 and non-members is $450. Individuals that have already completed the 15-hour certificate may purchase this course as an additional elective for $40. If you have questions about your options for taking this course or the full CE program, email PQA at [email protected] 

The program is provided online through the PQA Education Center. See ourtutorial for accessing the program and ourfrequently asked questions. Learn more about the Medication Use Quality certificate program on PQA’s website. 

For additional information, including details on discounts and group purchasing opportunities, contact PQA at [email protected]. 

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