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ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) and the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) announced Tuesday a request for proposals (RFP) for research projects that address barriers to medication access. The organizations are interested in commissioning research that explores quality measurement targeting improved medication access, the impact of social determinants of health and other factors on medication access, or new models of care delivery to improve medication access.
The RFP follows PQA’s publication of the Medication Access Patient Journey Framework, which holistically defines medication access and identifies gaps in quality measurement that could address the financial and non-financial factors that stand between patients and the medications they need. PQA and NPC seek to fund projects in the $50,000-$100,000 range that can be completed in less than one year.“Medication access is an important part of high-quality, value-based healthcare,” said Matthew Pickering, PharmD, PQA’s Senior Director of Research and Quality Strategies. “Our framework identified the complex structural, financial and personal barriers patients face while accessing medications. This RFP builds on that work. We want to fund projects that can leverage the framework to address medication access and we’re interested in discovering what might be possible in developing access-focused screening tools or quality measures.”“We should always be learning and building on previous research to improve health care access and quality for patients,” said NPC vice president for Health Services Research Kimberly Westrich, MA. “For example, research based on our framework could potentially contribute to the evaluation of new payment models by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other insurers, helping to make our health care system more efficient.”
Initial, one-page concept proposals are due on January 10, 2020. Those selected will be invited to expand their concept in a formal proposal that is due on March 10, 2020. Funding decisions will be made within eight weeks after the due date.
PQA is hosting an informational webinar for interested applicants on December 12 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. est.The RFP announcement was made at “Caring for the Whole Patient,” a PQA national forum in Arlington, Va., to showcase emerging best practices to address the social determinants of health and the role of pharmacists.
