For Immediate Release
CONTACT:
Lynn Pezzullo, PharmD
Senior Director, Quality Innovation
Pharmacy Quality Alliance
lpezzullo@PQAalliance.org
PQA Adds Rheumatoid Arthritis Adherence Measure to Specialty Core Set

Membership Endorses One New Performance Measure 
and Retires Another
Alexandria, VA (May 16, 2018) - The membership of the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA), a non-profit leader in quality measure development, endorsed a new performance measure, Adherence to Non-Infused Biologic Medications used to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis (PDC-RA), adding to its   Specialty Core Measure Set .

The  new measure examines the percentage of adults 18 years and older with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who met the Proportion of Days Covered (PDC) threshold of 80 percent for self-administered biologic medications used to treat RA.

"W ith rheumatoid arthritis being a chronic inflammatory disease that can reduce a person's health and quality of life, it is important for individuals to remain adherent to their prescribed therapies in order to prevent loss of function and improve quality of life," said  Laura Cranston , chief executive officer of PQA. "We are pleased to add this new measure to our core set, which addresses gaps in specialty measures to support the health and outcomes of patients across a broad range of clinical conditions."

PQA collaborated with health plans to test the PDC-RA measure. The use of multiple testing partners is invaluable. It gives PQA the opportunity to identify how measures perform across different health plans, understand variation in performance, and whether there is room for improvement.  

PQA's membership voted to retire the performance measure, Cholesterol Management in Coronary Artery Disease (CMC) because it does not align with current clinical guidelines, is not currently used and has very limited opportunity for implementation.
About PQA:
The Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) is a non-profit organization committed to
optimizing health by advancing the quality of medication use. PQA, a recognized leader in quality measure development, is dedicated to improving the safe and appropriate use of medications, researching the impact of quality measurement, and providing education on quality-based healthcare. Established in 2006, PQA is a transparent, consensus-based, multi-stakeholder organization representing over 230 member organizations including healthcare payers, health plans, community pharmacies, physician providers, life sciences organizations, state and federal government agencies, academic institutions, standard setting/accreditation organizations, health information technology (HIT) partners, and other stakeholders interested in improving the quality of the medication-use system. For more information about the Pharmacy Quality Alliance, please visit www.PQAalliance.org or contact us at (703) 347-7963.
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