NCQA Announces New ACO Accreditation

NCQA is announcing its new Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Accreditation. This first-of-its-kind program builds on patient-centered medical homes and provides an independent evaluation of organizations' ability to coordinate the high-quality, efficient, patient-centered care expected of ACOs. It helps providers make the challenging-though much-needed-transition to ACOs, which will be expected to have a "comprehensive and cohesive" approach to primary care.

The program evaluates organizations in seven categories:

1. ACO Structure and Operations
2. Access to Needed Providers
3. Patient-Centered Primary Care
4. Care Management
5. Care Coordination and Transitions
6. Patient Rights and Responsibilities
7. Performance Reporting and Quality Improvement



NCQA ACO Accreditation includes three levels, representing varying degrees of capability for coordinating care and reporting and improving quality.


Organizations that wish to apply for NCQA ACO Accreditation must complete an application. Information provided in the application will be used to determine eligibility. Find ACO publications that include the survey and information on how to apply and the data submission process here <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hwcha7cab&et=1108718706510&s=58973&e=001g2oSgZFU93v1ai9HlLaO2mIgMS5hkJT0rona2CRTraw80uXv3FJfo-jnFwSusjzolX_zRQI_VK65KAWjXgBCx4myHPCIwUYRpBd0YgxNo5AVYgntZ6eVsaNZFP5ptcBBADtA-Z3yP-uTATrMx0a6rw>


An Educational Assessment is available for organizations in the early stage of ACO development or that are not currently pursuing accreditation. It provides the organization a chance to dialogue with NCQA about its performance against the standards and to receive an in depth review of areas to improve.


For more information about NCQA's ACO Accreditation and other NCQA evaluation programs, visit www.ncqa.org <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hwcha7cab&et=1108718706510&s=58973&e=001g2oSgZFU93tvrB2YUyfxsPYKLBElWqyT8ZNKvF29iLOd-NrAlP3YT8MRGpJe-eDIC8RL4GN83j-C7acHnfFjE5dVXB75o-LYFwEbQ2kmBfI> or contact NCQA Customer Support at 888-275-7585.