Five for Friday January 13: Celebrating Success in Advancing Medication Use Quality

PQA published the second edition of the PQA Social Determinants of Health Resource Guide this week. The expanded guide profiles 32 SDOH services, including 12 new services and updates to nine initiatives from the first edition.

Healthcare practitioners have taken a variety of approaches to address SDOH factors impacting the communities they serve. This edition profiles a wider variety of services and includes pharmacy-based or pharmacy-involved SDOH services launched or expanded in response to COVID-19 and are being continued post-pandemic. Read more about the expanded guide below.

We also highlight our members' perspectives on the year ahead in data standards, specialty pharmacy and access to affordable medications. If you have news you'd like for us to spotlight in an upcoming Five For Friday, send us an email!  

-- Amanda Ryan, PharmD, BCGP, CPHQ, PQA Director of Educatio

Developing Data Standards to Elevate Pharmacists' Roles

NCPDP's Lee Ann Stember outlined the support for the connectivity of health care data and the expanding role of pharmacists as they increasingly move deeper into providing patient care services in the community and the home. It’s linked to NCPDP’s strategic goals for innovation, leadership in standards development, and precision medicine. NCPDP will continue to actively examine its standards to help ensure they evolve to provide the pathways that support pharmacists’ expanding role in patient care and digital health and to collect and share SDOH, relevant multi-omics data and other patient data amongst the care team to improve patient care, care coordination, and outcomes 

Evolving Trends in Specialty Pharmacy  
Sheila Arquette, President and CEO of NASP, provided insight into the outlook of specialty pharmacy in 2023.As the market continues to demand specialization in drug distribution and clinical management of complex therapies, specialty pharmacy continues to evolve. This relentless pace of change challenges all providers along the care continuum to find new ways to support specialty patients and control costs. Specialty pharmacy will continue to be dynamic, demanding and disruptive, rapidly evolving to embrace challenges that become opportunities and opportunities that become solutions, all designed to advance and enhance patient care. 

Advancing Access to Affordable Medications 
PQA Board Vice-chair and AMCP CEO Susan Cantrell detailed the opportunities and challenges that industry and policy makers can leverage to improve the health of our nation in 2023. Some important developments to consider as we look ahead are the implementation of the inflation reduction act, PIE legislation, prescription digital therapeutic and building broader biosimilar adoption. By advancing smart policies with clear purpose, they aim to help reduce out-of-pocket medication costs, gain swifter access to potentially life-saving treatments, and leverage new digital technologies and advances in biosimilar medicine to manage patient health. 

Expanding the SDOH Resource Guide 

The second edition of the PQA Social Determinants of Health Resource Guide amplifies many of the best practices and meaningful solutions which are helping to address health disparities and promote health equity. 

The first edition of the guide was leveraged by a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute-funded PQA project to identify patient-centered outcomes research priorities for improving SDOH screenings and interventions in pharmacy settings. The guide was instrumental in identifying real-world interventions and screenings that have addressed SDOH, specifically programs that are not described in peer-reviewed journals and other grey literature.

PQA welcomes feedback on the guide and suggestions on SDOH services which can be highlighted in future editions. Feedback can be provided to PQA by email at [email protected].

Your Next Engagement Opportunities

Network, Learn and Collaborate with PQA

  • The next PQA Quality Forum Webinar is Thursday, January 19, 1-2 pm ET. This forum will provide an overview of the second edition of PQA's Social Determinants of Health Resource Guide and highlight initiatives featured in the guide. Speakers from Loma Linda University and Walgreens will discuss their services featured in the guide. Register today!

  • Save the date for PQA's 1st Quarter 2023 Stakeholder Advisory Meeting, March 8, 1-2 pm ET. PQA SAMs are members-only events. Held quarterly, the meetings share current and relevant measure development and maintenance updates with members. .
  • The 2023 PQA Annual Meeting takes place May 10-12 in Nashville, TennMake plans to join us! PQA’s collaborative approach makes its meetings a preferred destination for quality improvement professionals, who attend to learn, network and engage fellow decision makers and influencers in healthcare quality. To learn more about sponsorship, email [email protected]..
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