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May 2023 (Issue #79)
PQA Has a New Look!
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.

PQA’s reputation within the healthcare system remains stellar and synonymous with consensus-driven work to improve health care outcomes through high-quality medication use. That’s why “PQA” remains central to our image, identity and logo.  Through measurement, research, education and convening, everything we do drives towards quality medication use, which is our logo’s new tagline. 
Back from the 2023 PQA Annual Meeting
The 2023 PQA Annual Meeting took place in Nashville, Tenn., May 10-12. More than 400 leaders from PQA member organizations attended to network, engage and learn from more than 50 speakers across 20 sessions.


Abstracts from the 2023 PQA Annual Meeting Poster Session, sponsored by PQS, were published in the May-June 2023 issue of the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association.

PQA also presented eight Medicare plan contracts with a PQA Laura Cranston Excellence in Quality or Quality Improvement Award. 

Thank you to our sponsors, whose support made this meeting possible, including Platinum sponsors Pfizer and PQS, and Gold sponsors Centene and Humana.
Members Appointed to Health Equity and Specialty Pharmacy TEP
PQA has appointed individuals from member organizations to serve on two technical expert panels (TEP). Sixteen individuals were selected to serve on the Specialty Pharmacy Prescription Abandonment Rate [Pharmacy] (SP-AR-PH) TEP and 19 to serve on a Health Equity TEP.

The Health Equity TEP will assess PQA’s health equity strategy, including stratification (including variables for both measure testing and implementation in quality programs) and risk adjustment of certain PQA measures.

The SP-AR-PH TEP will inform a measure concept to assess the percentage of new prescriptions received by a specialty pharmacy that are not obtained by the patient within the measure’s specified timeframe.

Reach out to Engagement@PQAalliance.org if you have questions about how you and your organization can engage with PQA’s measure development. 
PQA Sociodemographic Status Risk Adjustment
PQA has a new sociodemographic status risk adjustment frequently asked questions (FAQ) document that addresses background and basics of SDS risk adjustment and PQA’s risk adjustment recommendations for the three adherence measures in Medicare Part D (PDC-Diabetes All Class, PDC-Renin Angiotensin System Antagonists, and PDC-Statins).

In addition to the PQA SDS Risk Adjustment FAQ document, the March 16 PQA Quality Essentials Webinar detailed risk adjustment in quality measurement and provided an overview of the shifts in thinking related to risk adjustment. 

For more information, see our blog and read about PQA Measure Use in CMS’ Part D Quality Programs and PQA’s adherence measures. 
PQA Welcomes Four New Members
PQA Welcomes Melissa Viscovitch
Four new members have joined PQA since March:
  • Pleio
  • National Pharmaceutical Association (NPhA)
  • Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition (SCPC)
  • Ultimate Health Plans
Melissa Viscovich, CAE, IOM, has joined the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) as Chief Operating Officer. She will lead PQA’s finance and operations to ensure the current and future success of the organization. Read more.
Second Quarter Stakeholder Advisory Meeting
PQA Summary of the CMS CY 2024 Announcement and Rule
PQA's 2nd Quarter 2023 Stakeholder Advisory Meeting is June 7, 1-1:30 pm ET. PQA SAMs are members-only events that are held quarterly to share current and relevant measure development and maintenance updates. Access the registration link via the Member Resources Library.
CMS finalized the 2024 Rate Announcement and rule (CMS-4201-F) for Medicare Advantage and Part D. PQA published in April summaries of each of these important communications, which can be found in the Member Resources Library. 
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"Five For Friday" is a biweekly celebration of our collective work to improve medication use quality. Catch up on recent editions.


PQA's Five for Friday features three stories on our member's work, one on a PQA initiative and ways to engage in our work. Email us your news that we can spotlight.
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Revisit recent posts:
  1. Innovation in Pharmacy to Advance Quality
  2. Quality Measure Risk Adjustment
  3. PQA's Expanded SDOH Resource Guide

You can also revisit select content from Annual Meetings, Leadership Summits and historical Quality Forums.
Follow PQA on Twitter and LinkedIn...
@PQAalliance: "Thank you for joining us in Nashville for the 2023 PQA Annual Meeting! Thank you to our sponsors for their partnerships in quality..."
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