#TBT: Gaps in Quality Measurement & ACOs’ Effectiveness

As part of our “Throwback Thursday” blog series, we’re taking a look at a topic that’s currently in the news and tagging it with previous research, videos or commentaries in a relevant way. As the saying goes, “what’s old is new again” – and we hope you enjoy our wonky twist on #TBT.

The National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) is looking forward to today’s webinar, “Mind the Gap: Improving Quality Measurement in Accountable Care Systems,” at 12:30 pm ET [click here for more details, and how to register], and the discussion with health care experts surrounding the gaps in quality measurement.

This isn’t the first time that NPC has taken a look at some of the issues facing accountable care organizations (ACO). Although NPC recognized that pharmaceuticals play a key role in improving patient health outcomes, it wasn’t clear how ACOs viewed that role. For ACOs that need to succeed in an environment of dual responsibility for costs and quality, how do pharmaceuticals fit in?

To address this question, in 2010, NPC, the American Medical Group Association (AMGA) and Premier, Inc. teamed with seven ACOs to form the Working Group on Optimizing Medication Therapy in Value-Based Healthcare.

The Working Group developed a framework for considering the role of pharmaceuticals in achieving value-based success, which was published as a web exclusive, “Role of Pharmaceuticals in Value-Based Healthcare: A Framework for Success,” (and one of our #TBT picks) in the July 2012 issue of the American Journal of Managed Care. In a video interview, NPC Chief Science Officer Robert Dubois, MD, PhD, a co-author of the study, explained the research findings and many considerations faced by ACOs as they strive to meet cost and quality benchmarks, and in particular, how biopharmaceuticals fit into those efforts.

 

NPC, AMGA and Premier, Inc. used this framework to create an ACO readiness assessment to examine ACOs’ capabilities to support, monitor and assure optimal medication use in achieving the best patient health outcomes. The results were published in our second #TBT pick, a January 2014 Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy article, “Are ACOs Ready to be Accountable for Medication Use?”

They found mixed results. ACOs reported strong capabilities to manage medications in a few areas, such as transmitting prescriptions electronically. But, ACOs also reported room for improvement in areas such as being able to identify the cost offsets and demonstrate the value of appropriate medication use, having protocols in place to avoid medication duplication and polypharmacy, and having quality metrics in place for a broad diversity of conditions.

NPC’s work in this area is continuing through its recent white paper on the gaps in quality measures for accountable care systems and through case studies on best practices to address ACO medication readiness. To learn more about this research, check out our website and join us for today’s webinar on quality measures—register to attend now!