PQA & CPF Announce 2020 Community Pharmacy Innovation in Quality Award Recipients

The Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) and the Community Pharmacy Foundation (CPF) announced today the recipients of the 2020 Community Pharmacy Innovation in Quality (CPIQ) Awards. The awards honor an individual and a community pharmacy, whose innovative practices have improved care quality, medication optimization and patient outcomes.

The 2020 CPIQ Award recipient in the individual category is Vikram Sundararaman, PharmD, MBA, a Clinical Pharmacy Site Manager for Genoa Healthcare. Working in a pharmacy that is physically integrated into the clinic setting, Sundararaman has been an innovative leader in developing strategies to build personal relationships with physicians, nurses and patients, while ensuring access to the right pharmacy services at the right time. Through face-to-face consultations, action plans and pharmacist-provided care, performance-based quality metrics for medication adherence, hospital admissions and hospital readmission rates have continued to exceed benchmarks and improve in his pharmacy. Always focused on patients, Sundararaman achieved a Net Promoter Score of 95, reflecting his patients’ satisfaction and willingness to recommend him.

The 2020 CPIQ Award recipient in the community pharmacy category is The Kroger Company. Kroger has made innovation a core focus of its work to improve the health of its employees and customers. For more than a decade, Kroger has implemented innovative programs for medication adherence, medication therapy management, health coaching, transitions of care, and nutrition. Kroger’s community partnerships focused on interdisciplinary care and coaching for diabetes have had a positive impact on patients’ average level of blood sugar and other biomarkers critical to good health. To expand and scale successful programs, Kroger launched in 2018 a novel training program for its pharmacists and technicians to drive consistent, high-quality care.

“Congratulations to Dr. Sundararaman and Kroger for their innovative work using pharmacy services to improve health care delivery and the lives of patients,” PQA CEO Laura Cranston said. “Dr. Sundararaman’s approach to relationship building is a model for everyone in healthcare. Kroger has made its frontline pharmacy staff a focal point for innovative programs that address community needs. Both are important examples of the future of pharmacy.”

Award nominations and their contributions to community pharmacy were evaluated for their innovation, measurable impact, replicability, scalability and reach. Priority areas of focus were practices or programs that addressed vulnerable populations, gaps in quality or patient care and the quadruple aim of healthcare: patient experience, population health, reducing costs and care team well-being.

“These awards celebrate innovation and progressive community pharmacy practice, “said Brian Jensen, a CPF Board member and former PQA Board member. “Kroger and Dr. Sundararaman have developed, implemented and maintained patient-centered approaches to pharmacy services that we hope will spread across our health system and in value-based models that reward innovations that deliver good outcomes.”

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Pharmacy Quality Alliance: PQAalliance.org

Community Pharmacy Foundation: communitypharmacyfoundation.org