PQA has appointed 19 individuals from member organizations to serve on a technical expert panel (TEP) to review and provide input on specific approaches to ensuring PQA’s measures support equitable health care.

The Health Equity TEP will assess PQA’s health equity strategy, including stratification (including variables for both measure testing and implementation in quality programs) and risk adjustment of certain PQA measures.

The panelists self-nominated and were selected by PQA staff based on experience in initiatives to promote health equity, quality measurement, statistical methodologies including creating and interpreting risk adjustment models, and experience serving patients from diverse backgrounds. The appointed panelists are:

• Matthew Dinh, SCAN Health Plan
• Marybeth Farquhar, American Urological Association (AUA)
• Dana Erf Fortman, Walgreens
• Katie Herndon, Pfizer
• Michelle Juhanson, Magellan Rx Management
• Shellie Keast, American Drug Utilization Review Society (ADURS)
• Susie Kim, CVS Health
• Aimee Loucks, Kaiser Permanente
• Nate Lucena, Rex Wallace Consulting
• Dani Markus, Cardinal Health/Outcomes
• Erin Neal, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• David Parker, Johnson & Johnson
• Kamal Patel, Elevance Health
• Sujith Ramachandran, University of Mississippi Center for Pharmaceutical Marketing & Management
• Niki Shah, McKesson
• Christie Teigland, Inovalon
• Kyle Thompson, Prime Therapeutics LLC
• Andrew Thorne, PQS
• Courtney Walker, Novo Nordisk

The TEP has four objectives:

• Identify stratification variables and methodologies for inclusion as standard in PQA measure testing process;
• Evaluate and make recommendations regarding the use of identified stratification approaches for PQA measures in quality programs;
• Review the risk adjustment model currently recommended for use with the Proportion of Days Covered health plan measures (Statins, Diabetes All Class, Renin-Angiotensin System [RAS] Antagonists) in Medicare Part D; and
• Explore the feasibility of applying a risk adjustment model to the Proportion of Days Covered: Composite health plan measure.

Equity is an area of critical importance and growing priority in the healthcare system, as reflected both in the White House Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities and in the multitude of resources published by the National Quality Forum, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, and many others.  In response, PQA set a strategic goal to champion diversity, equity and inclusion and address health disparities in medication use quality. A vital part of this work is ensuring that PQA’s measurement strategy appropriately addresses and promotes health equity.

Visit our Measure Development page to learn more about PQA’s process for developing measures that matter. There are opportunities for all members to participate in the process, as well as nomination-based panels and groups like the Health Equity TEP.