NCQA released its standards and guidelines for Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Accreditation in November 2011. The program provides a roadmap for provider-led organizations to demonstrate their ability to reach the triple aim: reduce cost, improve quality and enhance the patient experience.

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.
 
NCQA worked with consumer advocates, purchasers and experts in the fields of health care delivery, health services research and managed care to develop a comprehensive set of standards to evaluate ACOs.
  
NCQA ACO Accreditation includes two major components: standards, an evaluation of an ACO's structure and processes; and measures, an evaluation of an organization's capability to report performance results. 
 
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

 In-Depth ACO Accreditation Information