NCQA to manage diabetes provider program
March 1, 2002
NCQA to manage diabetes provider program
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) in Washington, DC, is assuming responsibility for a program to recognize physicians who deliver excellent diabetes care.
The Diabetes Provider Recognition Program is a joint project of the NCQA and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in Alexandria, VA. The ADA has managed the program since it was launched in 1997 and will remain a co-sponsor and active promoter of the program.
"The closer we can get to evaluating health care at the level of the system where the patient receives care, the more valuable the information we provide. That’s what the Diabetes Provider Recognition Program does; it gives people information they can use to find the right doctor, " says Margaret O’ Kane, president of the NCQA.
Approximately 1,600 physicians have been recognized under the voluntary program by submitting performance data related to their treatment of patients with diabetes. These data are evaluated against national thresholds, and those who meet or exceed the thresholds are recognized by a dedicated Internet page and added to the referral list to which the NCQA and the ADA refer interested consumers.
Applicants for the recognition demonstrated considerable improvement in diabetes care between 1997 and 2001. For example:
- The average rate of diabetes patients with Hemoglobin A1c less than 8% increased from 50% to 79%.
- The percentage of diabetes patients with properly controlled LDL cholesterol increased from 37% to 72%.
- The rate of diabetes patients monitored for kidney disease increase from 60% to 84%.
For more information, contact the NCQA at www.ncqa.org.
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