URAC revised its Community Pharmacy Accreditation program by collaborating with CVS, which achieved accreditation under an earlier version of the program. The resulting version 2.0 better aligns with current market needs and provides a glidepath to other programs: Specialty Pharmacy and Mail Service Pharmacy.
This new version readily appeals to national pharmacy chains, grocery store chains, and multi-site franchise operations. However, keep an eye on other potential markets, like the pharmacies springing up in membership warehouse stores such as Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s. Their desire for pharmacy “street cred” could be a strong market driver; accreditation shows the consumer that they are just as good as well-known community pharmacy brands.
What did URAC do to enhance this version of Community Pharmacy?
- We incorporated Core v4.0 to provide a foundation for sustained quality services.
- We revised the standards addressing pharmacy operations and drug review to align with the focus areas in Specialty Pharmacy and Mail Service Pharmacy, thereby positioning companies accredited under Community Pharmacy v2.0 for success with those programs as well.
- We updated the elements of performance covering patient counseling and immunizations.
URAC forecasts a wide range of possibilities for Community Pharmacy designations. The patient management section in Community Pharmacy v1.1 has been removed and will later (possibly first quarter 2019) become an optional medication therapy management designation. Other future designations include:
- Health Screening
- Disease Management
- Transitions of Care
We anticipate that these changes will make Community Pharmacy Accreditation more marketable and enable it to contribute to URAC’s topline growth.
