You can use this survey to measure patients' satisfaction

In the 16 months that the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) has been in existence, it has developed an initial starter set of 37 measures to assess quality in pharmacy. A dozen of these 37 measures address drug adherence, 14 focus on cardiovascular disease, nine measures are on patient safety, and the others range from diabetes to respiratory disorders. So reported PQA's executive director Laura Cranston, who spoke at the recent NACDS pharmacy and technology conference in Boston. She also told the audience that PQA will launch a survey instrument this December to measure patients' satisfaction with their pharmacists' services. Called CAHPS (consumer assessment of healthcare providers and systems), the survey instrument is now being developed by the American Institutes for Research and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, School of Pharmacy. When it is completed, the survey can be used by anybody—health plans, employers, and others. She added that the PQA follows on the heels of other quality alliances—for hospitals and ambulatory care. So PQA is playing catch-up.

Click here to see more articles from Drug Topics Daily News.

To go to the Drug Topics homepage, click here.