PQA's Cranston to step down as CEO
The Pharmacy Quality Alliance will be getting new leadership. The organization's longtime CEO Laura Cranston will be stepping down at the end of year as part of a planned leadership transition.
Cranston has led PQA for 15 years, during which time it has gone from a start-up to the nation's only organization focused on advancing the quality of medication use to optimize health. PQA said the leadership transition has been planned to "ensure PQA's work...continues its strong momentum."
The PQA board is working to identify a new CEO, and will share with its members and stakeholders more about the search process in the coming weeks.
"I have been humbled by the opportunity to lead PQA, and I am proud of the organization we have built," Cranston said. "Together, we have defined medication quality and positively impacted how healthcare is experienced and evaluated. PQA is in a great place today and I am ready for the next chapter in my career.”
Cranston said that PQA was envisioned 15 years ago by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as a public-private partnership. Since then, it has grown to 250 members who contribute to the organization's goal of using a consensus-driven process to develop measures aimed at enhancing patient outcomes through medication management.
"PQA’s ambitious agenda is shaped by the strategic leaders on our board, combined by the strong clinical, measurement science, research skills, and business acumen of our multi-stakeholder membership base," Cranston said. "PQA is poised to continue to shape the quality agenda for today’s healthcare system as we emerge from this pandemic. I have the strongest confidence in our leadership, and in the momentum of the organization, and look forward to passing the baton to a new executive leader by the end of 2020."
Jamie Chan, chair of PQA's board of directors said, "Laura Cranston has been a phenomenal leader for PQA since it was established in 2006. The implementation of meaningful medication use measures in today’s marketplace is due in large part to her vision for quality and her passion for bringing diverse healthcare leaders together to improve care and patient outcomes. Laura’s enthusiasm for PQA is as strong today as it was 15 years ago, and we continue to benefit from her leadership every day. She has built a tremendous foundation for PQA and we are committed to building on its legacy as the nation’s consensus-driven organization for medication use quality."