PQA taps industry, pharmacy leaders to fill out 16-member board of directors

ALEXANDRIA, Va. One of the most influential groups promoting a broader and more clinical role for the nation’s community pharmacists has named three new members to its board of directors.

Drawing from the ranks of retail pharmacy, pharmaceutical manufacturing and managed care, the Pharmacy Quality Alliance elected three industry veterans to four-year terms on its board. Those named to the 16-member board are:

• Thomas Menighan, EVP and CEO-designate of the American Pharmacists Association, who is joining PQA’s activities for the first time. APhA, along with the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the National Community Pharmacists Association and other pharmacy and industry groups, is actively involved with the organization.
• William Fleming, PharmD, who is VP of pharmacy and clinical integration for Humana and a longtime supporter of PQA. Fleming has been involved with the group since its inception and served as co-chair of its Data Aggregation and Reporting Workgroup during the group’s initial two years. Additionally, he serves on a number of ad hoc committees for PQA, including strategic planning.
• Eleanor Perfetto, PhD, who is senior director of reimbursement and regulatory affairs at Pfizer Inc. Perfetto is co-chair of PQA’s Research Coordinating Council, a post she has held since the council was established over two years ago. She has led efforts in launching the five current PQA demonstration projects in phase 1, and is assisting PQA in its research plans for broader demonstration projects to be launched later this year.

“Stepping into the role of board member during the discussions of healthcare reform gives all of us on the board a tremendous challenge,” noted PQA chairman Bruce Roberts, who is EVP and CEO of NCPA. That challenge, he added, is “to assist in building a high quality, affordable healthcare system, using the core building blocks of performance measurement, quality improvement and public reporting.

“In the medication use space, the performance measurement enterprise shows tremendous growth potential, and PQA, as a consensus-based alliance with the broadest group of stakeholders, is taking the appropriate steps to make appropriate medication use an integral part of the healthcare infrastructure,” Roberts added.

In line with the election of Menighan, Perfetto and Fleming, two PQA board members are rotating out: John Gans, veteran head of APhA and a founding member of PQA; and Jack Fish, VP channel management and pharmacy solutions with GlaxoSmithKline and a two-year veteran of the board. Both Gans and Fish are retiring from their respective positions within APhA and GSK this year.

PQA executive director Laura Cranston acknowledged the contributions made by Gans and Fish.