Workshop to revise and update Pharmacy Benefit Management and Drug Therapy Management

Measurement reporting will use a multi-year, three phase approach. First, organizations report mandatory measures to URAC, placing a particular focus on internal performance improvement and oversight activities. Phase two requires those measures be externally audited or verified, and URAC then makes composite measurement data available to participating organizations and interested third parties. In the last phase, URAC publishes the detailed public reports on its website with specific information by organization. URAC accredited pharmacy benefit management organizations and drug therapy management organizations will submit performance measurement reporting on these measures in 2011 for the 2010 reporting year. URAC accredits over 20 of the nation's leading pharmacy benefit management and drug therapy management organizations serving millions of consumers.

"It is important that URAC's standards stay current with changes in the industry. By developing measures for functions including evidence-based medicine and consumer rights, we can encourage improvement and innovation in the marketplace, and set standards that challenge organizations to empower and protect consumers," said John Jones, RPh, JD, chairman of URAC's Pharmacy Accreditation Advisory Group and vice president of professional practice and pharmacy policy at Prescription Solutions. "These new accreditation standards are designed to help organizations drive appropriate therapeutic outcomes for consumers with a clear focus on patient safety, outcomes measurement and quality improvement."

The Pharmacy Accreditation Advisory Group is comprised of 38 members representing a wide range of professionals from the health care sector, including employers, consumers, pharmacy consultants, health plans, independent retail pharmacy, pharmacy benefit management organizations, pharmacy professional organizations, labor, and large purchasing groups such as the Office of Personnel Management.

The PBM and DTM Accreditation Standards workshop will begin at 8:30 a.m. on October 6, 2009 with an overview of the standards and review of the re-accreditation process. The full-day session will also cover URAC's core accreditation standards. The workshop is being held in conjunction with URAC's 10th Annual Quality Summit which runs October 6-8, 2009 at the Hilton El Conquistador Resort in Tucson, AZ.

SOURCE: URAC