How do you know that you’re receiving quality health care and reliable medication management? The answer to that question is simple: quality accreditations.  

These independent reviews help ensure safe, confidential and effective care through pharmacy solutions partners like Prime Therapeutics (Prime), as well as better health outcomes. In simple terms, these certifications help build members’ trust in the care they receive and help promote better long-term care.    

In the latest episode of the “Pharmacy Friends” podcast, “Assemble the standards: Making quality second nature at Prime,” join host Maryam Tabatabai, PharmD, associate vice president of clinical information, and leaders from Prime’s Quality and Accreditation team — Greg Hunt and Jennifer Parrish, managers of operational compliance — to hear more about the everyday work that protects patients behind the scenes: the quality standards, audits and accreditation frameworks that help ensure Prime remains a trusted, reliable pharmacy benefit manager for its clients and members.  

“Quality standards really help safeguard patients,” Tabatabai said. “It’s that stamp of approval for customers to know our processes have been rigorously vetted, knowing that Prime is a reliable and trusted organization and really that peace of mind for patients and for our loved ones.”  

From International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC) accreditations to the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) accreditations, these standards form the backbone of Prime’s approach to consistent operations, patient safety and continuous improvement.  

“ISO gives us a standardized, trusted framework for how our processes should be designed and also documented,” Hunt said, sharing more about the ISO accreditation. “These standards are built into our processes from the start. This way, they can occur naturally as the work is being done, which allows us to operate consistently and predictably, especially for those state Medicaid programs where reliability is critical.” 

Achieving these standards results in meaningful outcomes, such as a reduction in members with high-risk opioid and benzodiazepine prescription patterns. Partnering with clinical teams also leads to steady improvement over time. 

“There’s a growing digital medication marketplace with a lot of illegitimate pharmacies popping up,” Parrish said. “Accredited pharmacies serve as the safeguard.”  

“If a patient or provider ever feels like they have a medication that doesn’t look right, could be mislabeled or counterfeit, they’re encouraged to contact the pharmacy,” she added.  

Prime has more than 10 accreditations across pharmacy, PBM and government solutions, along with protections these standards offer members.  

Learn more about Prime’s quality accreditations at PrimeTherapeutics.com.  

Read more about Prime’s promise to clients and patients