PQA Quality Connection Issue #61: Jan/Feb 2020

January/February 2020 (Issue #61)

The 2020 PQA Annual Meeting is May 13-15 in Baltimore, Md.

PQA’s collaborative approach to quality makes our annual meeting a top destination for quality improvement professionals. Come learn, network and engage fellow decision makers and influencers in our shared effort to advance healthcare quality.

Check out the agenda and register today to join us!

Sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities are available to elevate your organization's presence.

Hear from Inspiring and Informative Speakers at PQA 20

Bruce Japsen has been confirmed as a featured speaker at the 2020 meeting! Japsen is a senior contributor for Forbes on healthcare and one of the most inisghful and prolific journalists covering the industry.

Miss Camille Schrier , Miss America 2020 , also will be a featured speaker. A doctor of pharmacy student at Virginia Commonwealth University School, Schrier is using her platform to champion medication safety and abuse prevention.

More speakers will be announced soon and attendees can earn up to 3.0 contact hours of continuing education credit !

PQA Endorses Three New Pharmacy Performance Measures

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.

These measures represent PQA’s first step in developing a set of pharmacy performance measures to fill gaps in quality improvement. PQA will begin work in March to develop additional pharmacy measures that could be used in value-based care models to improve patient health. Read more.

PQA Summary of the CMS 2021 Advance Notice

On February 5, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released Part II of the Advance Notice of Methodological Changes for Calendar Year 2021 for Medicare Advantage Capitation Rates and Part C and Part D Payment Policies .

PQA has drafted a high-level summary of points of interest for our multi-stakeholder members. Comments to CMS are due March 6 .

CMS also seeks comments on a broad rule ( CMS 4190-P ) to enhance the Part C and D programs, codify several existing CMS policies, and implement additional technical changes. Comments are due April 6 .

PQA Retires Six Health Plan Measures

PQA, through a majority vote of its members, has retired six health plan performance measures. Measures can be retired due to lack of use, lack of opportunity for meaningful improvement, changes in clinical guidelines or the development of newer, more appropriate measures.

Four of the six measures retired evaluated adherence of individual diabetes medication classes. These measures were retired primarily because PQA’s all-class diabetes adherence measure is more meaningful, because diabetes therapy often involves combination therapy.

As a responsible measure steward, PQA supports efforts to minimize measurement burden by retiring measures no longer relevant or in use. Read more.

Monthly NDC Lists

A New PQA Service to Support Quality Improvement Initiatives

PQA now offers a new subscription service for monthly NDC list updates to support more timely monitoring and quality improvement initiatives throughout the year. This monthly update is in addition to the biannual lists and will include the addition of new drugs that come to market as well as any new NDCs for existing drugs.

An FAQ document provides additional information about the NDC list subscription service. Concurrent with the new subscription, PQA has redesigned its Value Sets, of which the NDC lists are a part. A separate FAQ document provides information on the redesign and PQA hosted a webinar to explain the redesign.

If you are an existing licensee and interested in a monthly NDC list subscription, please contact MeasureUse@PQAalliance.org . If you do not have a current license, but would like to obtain one, please complete the Measure Use and License Request Form.

PQA Quality Forum Webinar: Antimicrobial Stewardship

The next PQA Quality Forum Webinar will addres s " Antimicrobial Stewardship: Opportunities to Optimize Antimicrobial Use and Improve Quality ." Join us on March 12 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET. Luke Schulz, PharmD, BCPS, a Critical Care and Infectious Disease Clinical Pharmacist at UW Health in Madison, Wisc., will be our presenter. This webinar is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from PerformRx . Register today!

If you missed a recent webinar or would like to revisit a topic, see our recorded archives:

Interoperability and Quality (Feb. 20 - recording)
Leveraging Opportunity Zones to Address SDOH in High-need Communities (Jan. 16 - recording)
Polypharmacy: Optimizing Care Isn’t Always Adding Medications (Dec. 5 - recording)
Medicare 2020 Star Ratings Update (Nov. 7 - recording)

PQA members also can access PDF copies of slides from these webinars in our Member Library .

PQA and CRISP Partner to Map PQA Opioid Measures for Use in PDMPs

PQA is partnering with the Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients (CRISP) to map four PQA opioid measures so they can leverage Maryland’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) data.

PQA’s opioid measures currently are calculated using administrative claims data. They will be converted to use PDMP, claims and clinical data, which will support proactive reporting on the measures between PDMPs and CMS. The project aims to adapt measures that PDMPs across the country can utilize. Read more.

PQA Appoints 2020 Board and Executive Committee

The PQA Board of Directors approved its 2020 Executive Committee and appointed two new members to the 21-member Board during its 2019 fourth quarter meeting. The appointments were effective January

“PQA’s Board represents a diverse group of thought leaders and experts in healthcare, who understand how medication optimization improves patient outcomes and supports a value-based care system,” Laura Cranston, PQA Chief Executive Officer, said. “Covering the healthcare spectrum, their expertise will help us advance the safe and appropriate use of medicines.”

The 2020 Executive Committee includes:

Jamie Chan (Chair)
David Medvedeff (Immediate Past Chair)
Jerry Penso (Vice Chair)
Vikki Ahern (Secretary)
Anne Burns (Treasurer)
Michael Duteau (Member at Large)