PQA has several exciting opportunities for members to engage in our work in the coming months.

Chris Kotschevar and I will be in San Diego next week for the NACDS Total Store Expo and would love to connect with our members there. Learn more about our commitment to standardized pharmacy measures below and how you can connect with us next week!

We also highlight our members' perspectives on immunizations, community healthcare providers and patient experience. If you have news you'd like for us to spotlight in an upcoming Five For Friday, send us an email! 

Medication therapy management (MTM) is an important tool to help patients get the best results from the medications they’re taking.

However, as our health care system shifts toward patient-centered and value-based care models, there is a need to advance how we evaluate the quality of MTM services. This can support the broader implementation of standardized best practices and payment that rewards positive outcomes.

PQA has launched a national initiative to advance MTM quality measurement. A key part of this effort is a November 2 PQA Convenes event will will host. Learn more below.

We also highlight our members' perspectives on diabetes care, achieving the quintuple aim and transforming pharmacy care. If you have news you'd like for us to spotlight in an upcoming Five For Friday, send us an email! 

PQA has launched the PQA Quality Innovation and Research Initiative to Advance Medication Therapy Management Quality Measurement – a national initiative to advance medication therapy management (MTM) quality measurement and other strategies to evaluate MTM services.

Creating a quality improvement plan can seem daunting to many, but it is vital for value-based care and improved patient quality. PQA’s Medication Use Quality continuing education program course, "Quality Improvement Foundation," was designed to provide realistic approaches to implementing a quality improvement plan in a variety of settings.

The 2023 MLB All-Star Game was this week. It's an annual showcase featuring the most talented individuals who step onto the diamond every day. All-Stars have to be at the top of their game across the entire first half of the season. Getting six hits in your first 10 at-bats won’t make you an All-Star, but consistently performing at a high level over time sure will.

Health information technology and public policy are two topics in health care that are continually evolving, as is their impact on medication use quality. With those factors in mind, the next Medication Use Quality continuing education program course, "Special Topics Impacting Quality," will provide a framework to understand each topic and resources to locate additional information. This framework will give learners the knowledge to understand those impacts on an ongoing basis.

PQA is once again preparing to expand the PQA Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Resource Guide! As we work to develop the third edition we are seeking new initiatives and feedback on how our members and other quality stakeholders have used the guide.

PQA has released an additional course to the Medication Use Quality continuing education program.  “Equity and Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) in Medication Use Quality” dives into foundational information about health equity concepts and external factors that may impact health outcomes and medication use quality, including SDOH.

Medication Therapy Management (MTM) is an important tool to help patients get the best results from the medications they’re taking. In a new viewpoint article from PQA, Merck and the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, we present three reasons for new MTM quality measures and offer recommendations on next steps to achieve this.

PQA provides healthcare quality experience to students from a wide variety of disciplines. This summer, we are hosting three students through our PQA Summer Executive Internship sponsored by Pharmacy Quality Solutions.

Yesterday we launched the updated Medication Use Quality continuing education program! We’ve made significant updates across the entire program to meet the current and future needs of quality improvement and medication use experts.

PQA is a non-profit organization with 250 diverse members across healthcare. Our members include community and specialty pharmacy organizations, pharmacists and other healthcare providers, pharmacies, health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, life sciences, technology vendors, government agencies, health information technology partners, researchers, accrediting organizations and academia.

You may have noticed that PQA has a new look! Our fresh and modernized logo and color scheme reflects our positive, forward-looking view of the vital role of medications in health care – and our role in bringing the industry together to improve quality.

Health outcomes can be influenced by many factors other than the health care services received, including patient-related factors such as existing clinical conditions and sociodemographic status (SDS), which refers to a variety of socioeconomic and demographic factors.

PQA has appointed 16 individuals from member organizations to serve on a technical expert panel (TEP) to review and provide input on draft specifications for the pharmacy measure concept, Specialty Pharmacy Prescription Abandonment Rate [Pharmacy] (SP-AR-PH).