URAC releases DM accreditation standards
Aim is to address accountability, performance
Organizations providing disease management will be able to seek accreditation for their programs when the American Accreditation Healthcare Commission’s (URAC’s) "Disease Management Standards" are completed in the spring. Washington, DC-based URAC, a leading health care accreditation organization, released the standards for public review and comment in December.
Accreditation will be open to stand-alone disease management organizations, disease management programs offered by integrated medical management organizations, and programs offered by health plans. The standards build on URAC’s core standards and include accountability for disease management interventions and performance reporting. "The health care system is constantly looking for more effective approaches to improving health care outcomes for chronically ill patients. Disease management holds tremendous promise as a strategy that can be used by HMOs, PPOs, or any other type of health care organization. Accreditation is the first step to assuring that disease management programs are credible and accountable for the services they provide," says Robert L. Crocker, MD, senior vice president and corporate medical director for WellPoint Health Networks Inc. of Thousand Oaks, CA, and chairperson of the URAC Disease Management Advisory Committee.
URAC’s standards emphasize evidence-based practices, collaborative relationships with provi-ders, and consumer education. They address key areas of accountability such as the scope and interventions offered by the disease management program; types of performance measures used; rights and responsibilities of participants; and methods for population management, including stratification, engagement, and program design, including assessment and education. They are built on URAC’s core standard modules.
"Under this approach, all organizations that seek accreditation are reviewed under the core standards plus an accreditation module specific to that company’s lines of business. We are excited to add disease management to our array of modules that already include utilization management, case management, and claims management accreditation programs," says Gary Carneal, URAC president and chief executive officer.
The public comment period for the standards ends Feb. 14, 2002. The standards are available on URAC’s web site: www.urac.org.
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