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NCQA Press Release > October 19, 2009
NCQA PRESIDENT RECEIVES PICKER INSTITUTE AWARD
FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE ADVANCEMENT OF
PATIENT-CENTERED CARE
WASHINGTON—Margaret O’Kane, president of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), has been awarded the 2009 Picker Institute Individual Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Patient-Centered Care "in recognition of her leadership of the National Committee for Quality Assurance and her lifetime achievement in improving patient-centered health care through measurement, reporting and accountability."
Ms. O’Kane received the award during ceremonies this week at The International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua) in Dublin, Ireland.
“We’re quite proud of Peggy and this prestigious recognition of her many achievements and tireless advocacy on behalf of health care consumers,” said John Tooker, M.D., MBA, FACP, chair of the NCQA board of directors and Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the American College of Physicians. “Peggy’s vision for better health care quality through the power of measurement and transparency has truly helped reshape health care quality in our nation.”
The Picker Awards for Excellence® were established in 2003 as an educational component of improving patient-centered care and are named for the late Harvey Picker, one of the nation's leading proponents of improving care. According to the Institute, the Awards are intended to honor people and organizations that have made significant contributions to achieving this goal, and to highlight them as role models for others in the healthcare field.
Since 1990, Margaret E. O’Kane has served as President of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of health care everywhere. Under Ms. O’Kane’s leadership, NCQA has developed broad support among the employer and health plan communities; today many Fortune 100 companies will only do business with NCQA Accredited health plans. About three quarters of the nation’s largest employers use Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) data to evaluate the plans that serve their employees.
Ms. O’Kane was named Health Person of the Year in 1996 by the journal Medicine & Health. She also received a 1997 Founder’s Award from The American College of Medical Quality, recognizing NCQA’s efforts to improve managed care quality. In 1999, Ms. O’Kane was elected as a member of the Institute of Medicine, a highly-regarded organization of health care providers, researchers and others that is frequently called on to help shape national health care policy. In 2000, Ms. O’Kane received the Centers for Disease Control’s Champion of Prevention award, the agency’s highest honor. The CDC names a Champion of Prevention infrequently, and only when an individual has made a truly notable contribution to advancing preventive health care. In 2009 she was awarded the Picker Institute Individual Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Patient-Centered Care.
Ms. O’Kane began her career in health care as a respiratory therapist and went on to earn a master’s degree in Health Administration and Planning from the Johns Hopkins University.
NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA’s Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations and recognizes physicians in key clinical areas. More than 7 in 10 Americans enrolled in health plans are in an NCQA-Accredited plan. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information through the Web, media and data licensing agreements in order to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.
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Media Contact
Andy Reynolds
202-955-3518
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