Kroger Health's Colleen Lindholz moderated a panel at NACDS Total Store Expo focused scalable care models that can empower the pharmacist's growing role in community health. The panel discussed building sustainable strategies to scale pharmacy services, notably centering around "Food is Medicine" initiatives and the Milken Institute's recent report, "Catalyzing Action for Pharmacist-Provided Food Is Medicine Care."

Expanding Telepharmacy Services    
Walgreens and CVS Health have been expanding into the telehealth sector that incorporates aspects of telepharmacies. Walgreens Virtual Healthcare program allows customers in several states to access doctors or nurse practitioners via chat and video. If medication is required, it will forward that prescription to a Walgreens pharmacy and deliver it the same day. Similarly, CVS Health Virtual Primary Care offers virtual visits with nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and licensed vocational nurses, who can consult with a CVS pharmacist to provide quality medication management.

Assessing Updated Heart Failure Measures  
Joseph Saseen from the University of Colorado School of Pharmacy offered valuable insights into the implications of the updated performance and quality measures for patients with heart failure (HF). He addressed the 2020 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association Clinical Performance and Quality Measures for adults with heart failure and the benefits of these additional measures, the role of SGLT2 inhibitors, the potential health costs and role of pharmacists in treating patients with HF. 

Advancing Medication Therapy Management Quality Measurement

PQA launched a national initiative in 2023 to improve the quality and measurement of medication therapy management (MTM) services. As part of that initiative, PQA, its member organizations, and other stakeholders developed a call to action to describe the critical actions necessary to meet these goals. The PQA August 2024 report, Advancing Medication Therapy Management Quality Measurement, describes critical actions necessary to improve the quality and measurement of MTM services..

In response to the report and input from member organizations, PQA is launching the MTM Advisory Group. In contrast to many PQA nomination-based groups, the MTM Advisory Group is open to all interested stakeholders from PQA member organizations.

Any interested individuals can participate if they adhere to the described process and expectations. Members can learn more about the advisory group and how to participate in the Member Resources Library.

This MTM initiative is led by the PQA Quality Innovation and Research Center (QuIRC), a strategic initiative to accelerate progress in medication use quality and focus on clinical outcomes and provider contributions to care. The first phase of this initiative was funded in part by Novo Nordisk and Outcomes. PQA general funds, which include dues from PQA’s diverse, multi-stakeholder membership, also supported this work.

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