Accreditation is a process through which healthcare organizations demonstrate their compliance with national standards. By achieving accreditation, a specialty pharmacy exhibits that it delivers both consistency and quality in its operations.
The CPS SPARxSM team was recently awarded accreditation through the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC) for its Patient Care Services Center. This is the second accreditation that the SPARx team has obtained, the first being through the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC).
Dual accreditation provides benefits for specialty pharmacies. For SPARx, it demonstrates a commitment to excellence in patient care and speaks to their ability to perform in multiple facets. It demonstrates SPARx’s skill in gaining access to limited distribution drugs and specialty payer networks for specialty pharmacy partners. It also reflects SPARx Patient Care Services’ dedication and commitment to meeting standards that facilitate a higher level of performance and patient care.
Specialty pharmacy is complex and dynamic, accounting for approximately half of pharma spending in the U.S. The evolving role of specialty pharmacies in serving patients with complex, chronic diseases is critical to improving patient outcomes and financial performance. Accreditation assures all stakeholders that the specialty pharmacy meets the highest quality standards. Accreditation addresses standards related to risk management, consumer protection, operations, infrastructure, and performance monitoring.
URAC accreditation achieves a number of benefits, including:
- Provides a valued credential of quality that demonstrates organizational high standards and exceptional capabilities
- Documents a consistent, optimized experience that focuses on patient management, patient services, and communication performance
- Elevates contracting power, credibility, and differentiation over competitors as payers and stakeholders are assured of organizational competency
- Provides a practical roadmap for ongoing improvement with operational and clinical infrastructure, processes and efficiencies
- Delivers risk management peace-of-mind with standards that prevent, protect, and manage liabilities
- Inspires innovation through a non-prescriptive approach that supports your specific business and clinical practices
- Validates compliance with all state and federal regulations, licensing and other regulatory requirements
- Helps specialty pharmacies stay informed of breaking industry trends
URAC is a Washington D.C.–based non-profit organization that helps promote healthcare quality through the accreditation of organizations involved in medical care services, as well as by offering education and measurement programs. Accreditation standards for URAC programs are developed by independent experts, relying on advisory committees of experts in health care delivery.
Learn more about the URAC accreditation process here.
SPARx (Specialty and Ambulatory Pharmacy) is a service of Comprehensive Pharmacy Services, LLC. Founded nearly 50 years ago, CPS is one of the nation’s largest providers of pharmacy services – employing over 2,500 pharmacy professionals and servicing over 800 hospitals and healthcare facilities nationwide. CPS helps clients tackle complex problems through our suite of services across inpatient pharmacy management and consulting, 340B, specialty and ambulatory pharmacy, TELEpharmacy, supply chain management, rehabilitation services, and more. CPS supports pharmacy leader efforts to achieve operational excellence, drive clinical quality, attain continuous regulatory compliance, and improve bottom-line performance – all while supporting pharmacy staff, caregivers, and patients.
