PQA Newsletters

PQA Members Endorse New Performance Measures to Address Opioid Misuse/Abuse

On May 14, 2015, PQA members endorsed performance measures to address opioid misuse/abuse:
1. Use of Opioids at High Dosage in Persons Without Cancer
2. Use of Opioids from Multiple Providers in Persons Without Cancer
3. Use of Opioids at High Dosage and from Multiple Providers in Persons Without Cancer

PQA Recognizes Five Medicare Plans for Excellence and Significant Improvement in Medication Safety Based on CMS' Star Ratings

Group Health Cooperative, Humana Benefit Plan of Illinois, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest, Denver Health Medical Plan, and UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York

PQA Seeks Measure Testers: Highlights from the All-Member Measure Testing Opportunities Call

PQA hosted an all-member call on May 21st to discuss measure-testing opportunities. An important part of PQA's measure development process is to test draft measures using the measure specifications to calculate the rates and to complete additional sensitivity analyses. This step not only is important to determine the feasibility and validity of the measures, but also presents an exciting opportunity for member organizations to partner with PQA and to have early insights into their own performance on the measures.

Mark your Calendars: For PQA Members Only! June 25th at 1PM (EDT)

June's Quality Forum to Focus on Best Practices in the Medicare Rx Benefit that Produce Significant Improvements

The June Quality Forum will highlight best practices from PQA's inaugural Quality Improvement Award recipients: Denver Medical Health Plan and United Healthcare Insurance Company of New York.

PQA Measure Development Update: June 2015

The new PQA measure development process for 2015 is working well and the progress being made by the Measure Development Teams (MDTs) and the Stakeholder Advisory Panels (SAPs) on new measure concepts is significant. The MDTs have been meeting monthly via conference call since March, and the SAPs have met twice this year, including an in-person working session on May 13th, just prior to the start of the PQA Annual Meeting.

PQA is pleased to provide a recap of activities completed year to date (through June 1, 2015).

PQA Announces 2015-2016 Executive Fellow - Dr. Hannah Fish to Join Staff

The Pharmacy Quality Alliance welcomes Hannah Fish as the newest member of the PQA staff. Dr. Fish will serve as the 2015-2016 Fellow starting on June 15, 2015. Hannah will be coming to PQA as a new Doctor of Pharmacy graduate from University of Toledo's College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

PQA Welcomes New Members...

Actavis + Allergan, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Ohio Northern University Raabe College of Pharmacy, Ohio Pharmacy Counseling Services, Purdue University College of Pharmacy, Relypsa, University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy