URAC revises accreditation programs

WASHINGTON — A healthcare accrediting organization is revising three products in its Pharmacy Quality Management suite of programs.

URAC said its pharmacy committee approved revisions to its mail service, specialty pharmacy, and workers' compensation and property and casualty for pharmacy benefit management accreditation programs. The products revised include:

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  Mail-service pharmacy, version 2.0;

  
  


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  Specialty pharmacy, version 2.0; and

  
  


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  Workers' compensation and property and casualty for pharmacy benefit management, version 2.0.

  
  

URAC also introduced new performance measures to benefit the mail-service and specialty pharmacy programs, including dispensing accuracy, medication adherence, generic dispensing rates, prescription turnaround time and overall consumer satisfaction.

"It is vital that, in this healthcare environment, URAC standards remain current. By incorporating measures into the pharmacy standards, URAC can facilitate quality improvement and innovation in the industry," said Alan Spielman, president and CEO of URAC. "Additionally, URAC's goal is to encourage organizations to focus on outcomes for consumers and a dedication to patient safety."

Visit URAC.org/pqm/ for more information about these revised standards.