DENVER, June 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Kaiser Permanente Colorado
is one of only three health plans in the nation to receive a top
honor for excellence in medication safety. The award, issued by the
Pharmacy Quality Alliance, recognizes Kaiser Permanente’s
outstanding performance on medication safety measures included in
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) new 5-star
rating program.
Kaiser Permanente Colorado achieved the highest CMS
rating—5-stars—on medication safety measures in two key
areas, High Risk Medications and Diabetes Treatment. In
addition, the health plan achieved an overall 5-star rating
from CMS for its Medicare Advantage plans. There are only three
5-Star Medicare plans nationally.*
“This award is truly unique because it uses publicly available
quality data from CMS,” said Laura Cranston, PQA’s Executive
Director. “Therefore, plans don’t have to be nominated, they simply
have to perform exceptionally well on transparent measures of
medication safety. Selections for this inaugural award were
made by examining the performance criteria of hundreds of Medicare
contracts.
“Patient safety is our top priority—it’s at the center of
everything we do at Kaiser Permanente. We are very honored to be
recognized by the Pharmacy Quality Alliance for protecting patients
and promoting optimal medication outcomes.”
“It demonstrates the important role pharmacy can play in helping
to improve the quality of health care,” said Dennis Helling,
PharmD, DSc, FCCP, FASHP , Executive Director, Pharmacy Operations
& Therapeutics, Kaiser Permanente Colorado.
Kaiser Permanente Colorado has long been recognized nationally
for outstanding pharmacy programs. These programs include
comprehensive outpatient pharmacy services emphasizing expanded
roles of pharmacists engaging patients in safe medication use. In
addition, over 150 clinical pharmacists and clinical pharmacy
specialists
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