June 3, 2004
NCQA TO EXPAND HEDIS® SOFTWARE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM IN FALL 2004
New program to certify software covering smaller HEDIS measure sets
WASHINGTON- The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) today announced that it will establish a new certification program for software that generates results on a subset of the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS®). Many types of organizations purchase such software to meet specialized data reporting and quality improvement needs. NCQA's Limited Software Certification(SM) program will validate that software, thus streamlining related audit processes for any client organizations that use it.
"In terms of certification, one size no longer fits all," said Mary Braman, NCQA's Director of Licensure & Certification. "A growing number of companies don't provide results for the full HEDIS set because they specialize in particular clinical conditions or regional requirements. This new certification program addresses the needs of companies that report results for specific health care segments."
The program is based on NCQA's full HEDIS Software Certification Program, which verifies that commercial products which compile full sets of HEDIS scores do so accurately. Many of the industry's leading software vendors have been certified under the program.
NCQA will begin testing under the new program in the fall of 2004. The first software vendors to receive certification under the HEDIS® Limited Software Certification program will be announced in January 2005. For more information about HEDIS software certification programs, contact Mary Braman at (202) 955-3583 or visit NCQA's Software Certification Web page.
NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations, recognizes physicians and physician groups in key clinical areas and manages the evolution of HEDIS®, the tool the nation's health plans use to measure and report on their performance. 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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