PRESS RELEASE

PQA Endorses Three New Pharmacy Performance Measures

Measures Evaluate Adherence for Medication Treatment of Hypertension, Cholesterol and HIV

Alexandria, Va. (February 6, 2020) – The Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA), through a majority vote of its members, has endorsed three new pharmacy performance measures that evaluate adherence for medication treatment of hypertension, cholesterol and HIV. Medication adherence in these therapeutic areas remains suboptimal, and pharmacists are well-positioned with knowledge and tools to support patients in improving adherence to important therapies. The measures are supported by evidence demonstrating the relationship of medication adherence with improved clinical outcomes and decreased healthcare costs.

The three measures are:

• Proportion of Days Covered: Renin Angiotensin System Antagonists (Pharmacy)
• Proportion of Days Covered: Statins (Pharmacy)
• Proportion of Days Covered: Antiretroviral Medications (Pharmacy)

“These measures represent PQA’s first step in developing a set of pharmacy performance measures to fill gaps in quality improvement,” said Laura Cranston, RPh, PQA CEO. “Standardized, nationally endorsed measures exist throughout many areas of our healthcare system; however, there is a lack of standardized measures available to assess pharmacy quality. “We will begin work this quarter to develop additional pharmacy measures that could be used in value-based care models to improve patient health.”

PQA began developing pharmacy performance measures in response to member interest. The measures provide pharmacists the opportunity to demonstrate their contributions toward high-quality, patient-centered care.

The next phase of measure development will be focused on patient health outcomes and areas of care and quality performance that pharmacists can impact. To inform this work, PQA created a Pharmacy Measure Concept Advisory Group (MCAG), which will be composed of approximately 30 subject matter experts from PQA’s membership. The MCAG will assist in identifying, refining and prioritizing measure concepts for pharmacy measure development.

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