As the quality performance measurement continues to grow in focus and importance within healthcare as a means to improve patient outcomes, the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA), a consensus-based alliance representing a broad and growing number of health-care stakeholders, is making strides in a number of key strategic initiatives. We are pleased to share some sig-nificant milestones from this year, as well as objectives for 2010. We encourage all stakeholders engaged in ensuring appropriate medication use to their patients and the provision of medication therapy management services to become active and engaged partners with PQA in the coming year.

In late August of this year, the National Quality Forum (NQF) concluded a year-long process of review-ing medication related measures with the endorse-ment of a total of 18 measures. In an open call for measures, NQF’s Voluntary Consensus Standards for Medication Management project sought to identify and endorse measures for public accountability and quality improvement related to medication manage-ment, decision making, medication appropriateness and use, and monitoring. The call cited that the measures should address the quality of medication management provided by Medicare Part D plans, health plans, clini-cians, and pharmacists. NQF endorsed three of the five proportion-of-days-covered (PDC) measures of medi-cation adherence by therapeutic category. In addition, NQF endorsed the diabetes suboptimal treatment regi-men measure; and both asthma measures, which were merged into one (the suboptimal asthma control measure and the absence of controller therapy measure).
     With NQF-endorsed measures, PQA is well posi-tioned to begin discussing these measures with a broad stakeholder group and to encourage the use of these measures within health plans, PBMs, publicly funded programs, employers and business coalitions.

PQA is encouraging the appropriate implementation
of medication use measures in the healthcare marketplace. Five PQA workgroups have been established and launched covering the federal and state sector, PBM industry, health plan and insurance segment, and lastly the business coalition space. These workgroups have begun discussing how best to encourage appropriate uptake of these recently endorsed measures.

PQA has been appointed to the National Priorities Partnership Committee, an initiative convened by the National Quality Forum (NQF). The National Priorities Partnership is a collaborative effort led by 28 major national organizations.
     “Pharmacists play an important role in achieving the National Priorities and Goals,” said Janet M. Corrigan, President and CEO of the National Quality Forum, which convened the National Priorities Partnership in 2008. “They help ensure that patients receive safer, better coordinated care on a daily basis; drive the system to improve patient outcomes through effective medication management; and are on the front lines when it comes to truly engaging patients in and educating patients about their care.”
     PQA is pleased to be a part of this important initiative and working with organizations committed to integrating these national priorities into the fabric of their own organizations.

“What cannot be measured; can not be improved” is
a commonly used expression in quality circles. Within
the pharmacy and payor communities, PQA Phase I
Demonstration projects set out to meet several primary
objectives:

• Determine the requirements for collecting and aggregating prescription claims data and calculating the 15 PQA quality measure scores
• Implement processes and systems for the collection of patient experiences and satisfaction with pharmacy services using a PQA-sponsored survey
• Generate and test different models of pharmacy performance reports that allow comparison between
  pharmacies and among peers, and then track quality changes over time, and
• Receive feedback from pharmacists and managers on the reports’ accuracy, user-friendliness and value in improving quality and then make needed improvements.

PQA Phase I Demonstrations are coming to a close,
and the reports of best practices, lessons learned and