PQA has released an updated Medication Use Quality continuing education program. The updated courses divide the previous 15-hour Medication Use Quality certificate into a more flexible program for busy professionals. Three courses, “Healthcare Quality Foundations,” “Measurement Program Foundations” and “Measuring Quality to Improve HIV Care,” are available now in the PQA Education Center.
Throughout the summer the following courses will be added to the education center:
- Equity and Social Determinants of Health of Medication Use Quality
- Special Topics Impacting Quality
- Building Expertise in Calculating Measures
- Quality Improvement Foundations
- Mastering Today’s Quality Landscape
- Putting it All Together: A Practice Approach to Quality (available only as part of the Medication Use Quality certificate)
All nine courses will be accredited for 2 to 3 contact hours for pharmacists. The structure of the updated Medication Use Quality program ensures that learners can take courses that are most relevant to their independent career paths and at a pace that works for their schedules.
For those who want more comprehensive training, the 15-hour Medication Use Quality certificate will be available by late summer. The certificate includes all of the individual courses above, with the exception of Building Expertise in Calculating Measures and Measuring Quality to Improve HIV Care, and provides a broad overview of medication use quality.
There are significant updates across the entire program to meet the needs of the current and future landscape of quality improvement and medication use.
"Gave us the basics on how quality measures are designed, implemented, and utilized and then went into detail on this specifically impacts areas of pharmacy"
-Medication Use Quality Live Participant, Spring 2023
There are few continuing education programs for pharmacists that address quality. With that in mind we intentionally sought out faculty with expertise in the program’s topic areas, which features over 25 experts across quality.
The program will meet quality professionals where they are at. Whether you’ve recently entered the quality space, are a quality expert or have even stepped away from quality for a few years and are reentering the space, you will find programming that will work for you.
“Good, actionable takeaways to make quality a priority.”-Medication Use Quality Live Participant, Spring 2023
Healthcare Quality Foundations will introduce learners to the current state of healthcare delivery in the United States. It will focus on current and emerging models of care, the industry shift to value-based care, public and private initiatives driving that shift, and the role of quality measures.
Measurement Program Foundations focus on value-based models of care where measures are implemented as part of measurement programs. Learners will gain insight into performance programs offered at the federal, state, and regional levels, and how commercial lines of business leverage quality measures as well as core sets of measures.
Measuring Quality to Improve HIV Care provides training on HIV treatment, prevention, and the role of quality measures. The course will provide a high-level review of the population health treatment of HIV, comorbid medical conditions associated with HIV infection, pharmacotherapy for both HIV treatment and PrEP/PEP, quality measures to assess HIV care, and opportunities for future quality measure development.
These courses are available online through the PQA Education Center and cost between $59 and $79. PQA members receive a 50% discount. Information on the member discounts can be found in the Member Resources Library. For additional information, group purchasing opportunities or questions on the program, contact PQA's education team at [email protected].