The National Committee for Quality Assurance has released a draft standard of its 2007 accreditation requirements for public comment. The draft includes increased requirements for managed care organizations and preferred-provider organizations seeking accreditation. They’ll be required to comply with two new content areas involving how effectively they interact with patients and how well they assess their management of patients with chronic conditions. In addition, accreditation candidates will be scored on the following:
• Persistence of beta-blocker treatment after a heart attack
• Glaucoma screening in older adults
• Comprehensive diabetes care
• Cholesterol management for patients with cardiovascular disease

One Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measure, beta-blocker treatment after a heart attack, will be retired from accreditation scoring owing to a sustained period of high performance by health plans on this measure. In 2005, the average score for accredited plans was 96.7 percent on this measure.

The draft standard also proposes the modification or elimination of several elements to streamline the requirements and make them consistent across all NCQA accreditation or certification programs.

 …