ASCP, PQA, and AMDA: A Collaboration Using Quality Measures to Advocate for Best Senior Care

Abstract

View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download (PPT)The American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) is a membership association that was founded in 1969 to represent pharmacists and other health care professionals who work with older adults. ASCP’s mission is “to promote healthy aging by empowering pharmacists with education, resources, and innovative opportunities” (“ASCP: Empowering Pharmacists; Transforming Aging,” https://www.ascp.com/page/about). The Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) is a nonprofit and consensus-based “national quality organization dedicated to improving medication safety, adherence, appropriate use” (“About PQA,” https://www.pqaalliance.org/our-story). They provide medication management services through performance measurement, research, and education, and are in a public-private partnership with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (see “PQA Measure Development Process, Version 4.0,” Oct. 25, 2021, https://bit.ly/369SPRx). The relationships between PQA and ASCP and between ASCP and AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine highlight the benefits of collaboration to optimize patient care. By aligning the clinical and financial goals among these organizations to improve outcomes, this model of collaboration has demonstrated its value for successful results. As a PQA member organization, ASCP works with PQA in multiple ways. ASCP contributes subject matter expertise during measure development and maintenance. ASCP also serves in an advisory role as measures are vetted and finalized for adoption to support measure implementation strategies via its professional relationships. ASCP’s interest in promoting adoption of measures is inclusive of the regulatory level by government agencies and at the grassroots level with allied pharmacy organizations and their membership. ASCP’s consultant pharmacists partner with other ASCP members and any aligned health care team members, including facility data collection providers (e.g., Minimum Data Set [MDS] coordinators) to ensure education about measures and accuracy in the data coding process. Additionally, they provide traditional medication regimen review services, comprehensive medication reviews for Medicare D beneficiaries in post-acute and long-term care, additional residential care settings, and novel emerging community and telehealth practices. One example of how ASCP has collaborated with PQA to provide subject matter expertise on a specific PALTC concern is the “Antipsychotic Use in Persons with Dementia (APD)” measure, which “evaluates the percentage of individuals with dementia with a prescription claim for an antipsychotic medication without evidence of a psychotic disorder or related condition.” It was also “adapted for the long-term care setting using MDS data” (“PQA Measures Overview,” Sept. 23, 2021, https://bit.ly/3oUKx6w). ASCP also collaborated with PQA to understand the intent of the current APD quality measure and identify opportunities for continued quality improvement, which informed ASCP’s policy and position statement on the “Use of Antipsychotic Medications in Nursing Facility Residents” (Apr. 1, 2018, https://bit.ly/3HZLH8u). The position statement aligns the partnership and mission of ASCP with that of AMDA. ASCP members work closely with their facility clients at the corporate ownership, medical leadership, and administrative executive levels to complement the entity’s focus on quality measures. ASCP consultant pharmacists, ASCP member provider pharmacies, and pharmacy managed care organizations ensure alignment with these mutual goals. They work side by side with the Society’s members to ensure that quality measures are shared, strategized, and implemented to ensure individual providers are held accountable for meeting the goals. Finally, the partnership between ASCP and the Society uses publicly collected data on outcomes statistics related to the measures and compares performance with benchmark state and national averages. Data indicators of poor performance become a focus for attention, including the use of vehicles such as facility Quality Assurance Performance Improvement (QAPI) activities. “PQA’s mission to optimize health by advancing the quality of medication use is supported by collaboration with ASCP,” said PQA Chief Quality and Innovation Officer Lisa Hines, PharmD, CPHQ. “Our work together and ASCP’s collaboration with AMDA enhances our strategies and ability to promote safe and appropriate medication use for older adults.” The information presented is a selective summary of publicly available information and is accurate as of the date of writing. Please consult the sources for complete reference information. Dr. Manzi has been a licensed pharmacist since 1990 and a Board Certified Geriatric Pharmacist since 1998. She is the director of LTC clinical services at Managed Health Care Associates, Inc. The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) alone and not of Managed Health Care Associates, Inc. Robert C. Accetta is the president/owner of Rivercare Consulting, LLC. A Board-Certified Geriatric Pharmacist, Rob currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP). He is a graduate of St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in New York.