APhA Policy Veteran Joins The American Health Quality Association

WASHINGTON—The American Health Quality Association, representing the national network of Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO) and health care professionals seeking to advance patient safety, is pleased to announce that Lisa M. Geiger, a seasoned policy advocate in federal and state health care issues, has joined its staff as a Director of Government Affairs.

Geiger comes to AHQA from the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the largest professional association of pharmacists in the United States . During her 16 years at APhA, Geiger lobbied Capitol Hill, managed the APhA’s political action committee and grassroots programs, and monitored state legislative and regulatory activities.

Most recently, Geiger served as APhA’s Director of State and Federal Policy, in which she was responsible for legislative and regulatory issues related to pharmacy practice, including the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 ( MMA ).

The MMA specifically directs Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs)—under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services—to work with providers, practitioners, Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plans to provide beneficiaries with safer and more effective prescription drug treatment.

“Lisa Geiger’s background in health care policy, especially working on pharmacy issues related to the Medicare Modernization Act, makes her a tremendous asset to The American Health Quality Association,” said David G. Schulke, Executive Vice President of AHQA. “Her wealth of knowledge working on both the federal and state levels will be invaluable as Quality Improvement Organizations are poised to perform medication management work under the new Medicare prescription drug benefit and focus on making the nation’s health care system work much better for patients.”

“I am pleased to join The American Health Quality Association at such a pivotal time in the Quality Improvement Organization program, and I look forward to the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead as QIOs stimulate changes that will advance patient safety and improve the quality of care,” Geiger said.

Geiger is a graduate of James Madison University in Harrisonburg , VA.

The American Health Quality Association is dedicated to improving the safety and effectiveness of health care. AHQA represents the national network of Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) that work with hospitals, medical practices, health plans, long-term care facilities, home health agencies, and employers to encourage the spread of best clinical practices and improve systems of care delivery. V isit: www.ahqa.org.