NCQA’s Physician Organization (PO) Certification Program is available to organizations that provide primary, multi-specialty or single-specialty health care services through the use of practitioners of appropriate disciplines and perform the functions required in the standard category (or categories) for which they seek certification. The three standard categories for certification review are Quality Management and Improvement (QI); Utilization Management (UM); and Credentialing and Recredentialing (CR). This program focuses on the PO’s role as a delegate or agent performing a function on behalf of Health Plans (HP). 

NCQA's certification review includes a rigorous onsite and offsite evaluations conducted by a team of physicians and managed care experts. A Review Oversight Committee (ROC) of physicians analyzes the team's findings and assigns a certification status based on the PO's performance against standards within applicable certification options.

A management or medical services organization (MSO) that performs credentialing functions on behalf of a PO or health plan is eligible for certification in CR. Additionally, a PO that achieves UM or CR Certification under the POC Program is also certified for UM or CR under its Organization Certification (OC) program. A PO that applies for certification directly under the NCQA OC Program does not receive credit for PO Certification.