THIRTEEN VENDORS SEEK SOFTWARE CERTIFICATION FOR 2008
Certification exempts vendors’ clients from source code review during a HEDIS® Compliance AuditTM and P4P Audit ReviewTM
WASHINGTON—The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) announced today that 13 software vendors will seek certification for the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDISâ) and Pay for Performance (P4P)-related software [see attached list]. The program uses automated testing to validate software designed to sift through health plan databases, collect relevant data and calculate results. Twelve vendors that were certified in 2007 are participating again this year.
NCQA validates vendors’ software by generating unique sets of test data that vendors process using their software. The vendor’s output is then compared to the expected results to determine if the software computes results in accordance with the specifications. Certification is voluntary; vendors who achieve certification are exempt from manual source code review by NCQA auditors during the HEDIS Compliance Audit and P4P Audit Review.
This year’s Software Certification includes the new performance measures added to the HEDIS 2008 measurement set:
- Lead Screening in Children
- Pharmacotherapy Management of COPD Exacerbation
- Relative Resources Use for People With Cardiovascular Conditions
- Relative Resource Use for People With Uncomplicated Hypertension
- Relative Resource Use for People With COPD
“Vendors who achieve certification have demonstrated they can reliably, repeatedly help their clients gather the most accurate results possible,” said Mary Braman, Director, Licensure and Certification. “We commend the vendors committed to the program, and we look forward to working with them in meeting clients reporting needs.”
Eight of the 13 vendors are seeking Limited Software Certification. This additional certification tests a subset of the HEDIS measurement set or the Integrated Healthcare Association’s California Pay for Performance (P4P) clinical measurement set.
As in previous years, Catalyst Technologies, Inc. and TierMed Systems, LLC are serving as beta test sites in preparation for this year’s testing.
For vendor contact information and certification status updates, visit NCQA’s Web site: http://www.ncqa.org/hedissoftcert.aspx. For more information on the Software Certification programs or to request an application, contact Anne Smith, Software Certification Manager at (303) 651-6995 or go to http://www.ncqa.org/softcert.aspx.
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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Vendors Seeking Software Certification
Austin Provider Solutions, Inc.
The HEDIS.com Solution
Catalyst Technologies, Inc.
DST Health Solutions
Innoapp, LLC
Intergeration Management, Inc.
ManagedCare.com
McKesson Health Solutions, LLC
MedAssurant, Inc.
ODIS, LLC
Q Mark, Inc.
Strategic Healthcare Management Systems, LLC
TierMed Systems, LLC
VIPs, Inc.
HEDIS® is a registered trademark of NCQA.
HEDIS Compliance AuditTM and P4P Audit ReviewTM are trademarks of NCQA.
HEDIS Software CertificationSM is a service mark of NCQA. All rights reserved.