Blessing Hospital’s specialty pharmacy earns national accreditation

QUINCY — Blessing Hospital recently earned accreditation from the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC) for the hospital’s specialty pharmacy.

URAC promotes health care quality by setting standards for clinical practice, consumer protections, performance measurement, operations infrastructure and risk management in collaboration with an array of stakeholders and industry experts.

Blessing opened its specialty pharmacy inside the hospital in 2023 to meet the needs of area patients with chronic conditions requiring complex therapies unable to be met by traditional, retail pharmacies.

In a press release, Rob Ritchey, administrative director, pharmacy and supply chain, Blessing Health System, said, “Before Blessing made this local option available, the only choice for these patients was to work with one of the nine or so national specialty pharmacies. The national option often meant long wait times and higher costs.

“In addition to more convenient access to life-changing medications, Blessing Specialty Pharmacy patients are able to meet face-to-face with the experts on our team who answer their questions and guide them to the most effective use of their medications.”

“When an organization achieves URAC accreditation, they demonstrate commitment to improving quality of care, excellence in pharmacy operations, product handling, patient education and patient management,” URAC President and CEO Shawn Griffin said.

Blessing also operates three retail pharmacies open to all customers:

• Brown Drug, 1121 Maine, Quincy
• Illini Health Services pharmacy, 321 N. Monroe Street, Pittsfield
• Denman Country Drug, 102 Prairie Mills Road, Golden

Blessing operates retail pharmacies inside Blessing Hospital Quincy and Blessing Health Hannibal in Missouri for the convenience of patients using those facilities for their healthcare.