ASHP Launches New Quality Improvement Resource Center

PRESS RELEASE

5/27/2014--ASHP has revised its online Quality Improvement Resource Center to better support pharmacist leadership and engagement in healthcare quality initiatives that improve patient outcomes and reward performance excellence.

“Close to 40 percent of clinical quality measures are related either directly or indirectly to medication use. Pharmacists have the background to assess the scientific reliability and applicability of these quality measures, and are well-suited for offering ideas on how a proposed measure would be implemented in real practice,” said Shekhar Mehta, Pharm.D., M.S., ASHP’s director of clinical guidelines and quality improvement.

The new site provides updates on ASHP’s quality improvement initiatives, including the organization’s engagement with the National Quality Forum and the Pharmacy Quality Alliance. The site also includes:

• Information on quality improvement strategies for pharmacy practice settings across the continuum of care,
• Updates on clinical quality measures and reporting programs, as well as links to resources and quality organizations,
• Continuing education, podcasts, webinars, and other media related to quality improvement and medication safety, and
• Activities of the ASHP Pharmacy Accountability Measures Workgroup.

The new resource center also allows ASHP members to sign up to be an ASHP Quality Advocate to help ensure pharmacists’ medication expertise is utilized in supporting the National Quality Strategy. First published in 2011 as part of the Affordable Care Act and led by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Quality Strategy serves as a catalyst for nationwide quality improvement efforts.

ASHP members who sign up to be Quality Advocates on the Resource Center will receive information about opportunities to participate in a variety of quality-oriented work groups, initiatives, and task forces.