Five for Friday March 14: Celebrating Success in Advancing Medication Use Quality
In 2023, PQA launched a multiphase national medication therapy management (MTM) initiative to address stakeholder needs and advance MTM quality measurement. PQA has identified six objectives that can advance MTM quality and measurement, and the MTM Advisory Group is serving as a forum providing expert feedback on how to approach these.
As a first step, the PQA Blueprint 2025 was leveraged to shape efforts, and objectives, strategies, and tactics were developed to strategically support the success of the MTM initiative. The goal of the MTM Advisory Group is to identify opportunities to improve the quality of medication management services, focused on Medicare Part D MTM program goals and services. Learn more about these objectives below.
We also highlight our members' perspectives on pharmacy deserts, blood pressure medication adherence and improving patient outcomes. If you have news you'd like for us to spotlight in an upcoming Five For Friday, send us an email!
-- Jenny Bingham, PharmD, BCACP, FAzPA, FNAP, Senior Research Associate
Jennifer Zilka and Kyle Pudenz from Cencora discussed what pharmacy deserts are, the common trends that surround them, and the staggering statistics that highlight a need for more pharmacy locations in the US. “Currently, there are growing concerns in the United States over the limited access to pharmacies in certain areas,” wrote Cencora. “In the United States, there are 150 counties where there is no pharmacy, and nearly 4.8 million people who live in a county where there’s only one pharmacy for every 10,000 residents or more.”
Increasing Adherence to Blood Pressure Medications
Research published from HealthPartners and Kaiser Permanente demonstrates a cost-neutral intervention method to increase adherence to blood pressure medications in patients who are being treated for diabetes, hypertension, or lipid disorders. These findings, according to the authors, suggest that algorithmic identification of medication nonadherence in the primary care setting along with support from clinicians and pharmacist outreach is possible in the improvement of adherence for certain cardiometabolic medications.
Examining Strategies to Improve Patient Outcomes
A report from CoverMyMeds examines actionable strategies to bridge gaps for patients and calls for increased collaboration and interoperability across the healthcare industry to improve patient outcomes. Patients continue to face medication access and affordability barriers with 65% experiencing delays in receiving their medications and 54% concerned about costs, according to the 2025 Medication Access Report: From Barriers to Bridges.
Six Objectives to Advance MTM Quality 
The evolution of PQA’s continued involvement in medication therapy management (MTM) spans over a decade. In a new PQA blog, PQA Senior Research Associate Jenny Bingham details the six objectives that PQA has identified that can advance MTM quality and measurement.
These include promoting a standard of care for MTM by educating MTM providers on use of the PQA Medication Therapy Problem (MTP) Categories Framework and supporting the increased use of standardized health information technology (HIT) for MTM services.
The MTM Advisory Group serves as a forum that provides expert feedback on how to approach these objectives. It is slated to convene through August 2025 and will periodically assess progress towards prioritized goals and objectives, to evaluate the value of continued meetings. Participation in the group is open to any individual at a PQA member organization. Individuals interested in joining the group should complete the group participation request form.
Your Next Engagement Opportunities
Network, Learn and Collaborate with PQA
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PQA is now accepting self-nominations for the Diversity in Quality Scholarship. The program provides scholarships for health care professional students to attend the 2025 PQA Annual Meeting. The deadline to submit self-nominations is March 14, 2025.
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Join us for a Quality Industry Spotlight Powered by PQA on Thursday, April 3, 1-2 pm ET, sponsored by Outcomes. Panelists from Outcomes and Highmark Health will present their expansive pharmacy network, designed to support and enhance health plans' efforts to maintain and improve HEDIS and Star measures. Register today!
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Join us at the 2025 PQA Annual Meeting, May 19-21, at the JW Marriott Tampa Water Street in Tampa, Fla. PQA's collaborative approach makes it the meeting the preferred destination for quality improvement professionals. Registration is now open!