Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about NCQA’s various programs. If you don’t see what you are looking for in one of the entries below, you can ask a question through My NCQA.
Save your favorite pages and receive notifications whenever they’re updated.
You will be prompted to log in to your NCQA account.
Save your favorite pages and receive notifications whenever they’re updated.
You will be prompted to log in to your NCQA account.
Share this page with a friend or colleague by Email.
We do not share your information with third parties.
Share this page with a friend or colleague by Email.
We do not share your information with third parties.
Print this page.
Print this page.
Yes. A comprehensive health assessment should be conducted for all patients and described in a documented process so the practice has relevant and documented information about patients' physical health and social and behavioral influences. That information is then utilized to provide appropriate services, interventions and resources to the patient population.
NCQA does not prescribe a frequency; practices determine the time frame for conducting and updating patient health assessments according to a protocol that suits their patient population, aligns with evidence-based guidelines and allows for meaningful evaluation of data.
NCQA does not prescribe a frequency; practices determine the time frame for conducting and updating patient health assessments according to a protocol that suits their patient population, aligns with evidence-based guidelines and allows for meaningful evaluation of data.
Yes, unhealthy behaviors can be the result of parent behavior but ultimately, we're looking for the unhealthy behaviors demonstrated by the patient (child). Secondhand smoke may be a direct example of a parent’s behavior affecting the child’s health and poor oral hygiene may be a child’s unhealthy behavior, but could result from lack of parental oversight or health literacy.
No. Although there is no requirement for a behavioral healthcare provider to be physically in the practice’s office, the behavioral healthcare provider must have at least partial access to the practice’s systems. Although the arrangements mentioned meet the intent of PP 03 (maintaining agreements with behavioral healthcare providers), they do not meet the requirements for this criterion.
If a practice site in an organization has integrated behavioral healthcare, the other sites in the organization may receive credit if there is also a process for their patients to access those behavioral healthcare services.
AAP resource:
Strategies for System Change in Children’s Mental Health: A Chapter Action Kit developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Task Force on Mental Health assists AAP chapters in addressing and improving children’s mental health in primary care in their state. https://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/Mental-Health/Pages/Chapter-Action-Kit.aspx
NCQA is not prescriptive regarding which clinical staff may serve as a care manager (clinician, nurse, social worker or other provider) and the practice may determine the training and skills needed to address and manage the behavioral health care needs of their patient population.
Medical records should clearly indicate that the patient has been asked about the specific item by including a notation that the patient answered “No” or declined to answer. Practices do not lose credit if the patient says “No” or declines to answer as long as it is documented.
Care coordination resources, including a sample patient care plan can be found at:
https://www.aap.org/en-us/professional-resources/practice-transformation/managing-patients/Pages/Care-Coordination.aspx
National Center for Medical Home Implementation Building Your Medical Home Guide:
https://medicalhomes.aap.org/Pages/Managing-Your-Patient-Population.aspx
https://medicalhomes.aap.org/Documents/PediatricCarePlan.pdf
NICHQ Care Plan Template: https://www.nichq.org/resource/nichqs-care-plan-template
Pediatric practices are not penalized for not sharing information with parents if the adolescent requests that information not be shared, but applicants must explain the exclusion of adolescent patients in the associated documentation. The system must include only legitimate requests for information based on state and federal confidentiality requirements
Confidentiality considerations in the care of young adolescents, AAP News 2008;29;15: http://aapnews.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/29/7/15.pdf
Palliative care is not the same as hospice care because it can begin when a patient is diagnosed or is undergoing treatment and may not indicate being near end of life. The hospice exclusion requires evidence that the member is receiving hospices services. Documentation that a member is in palliative care is not part of the exclusion.
Unlike UOP and COU, UOD requires the conversion of all dispensed opioids into morphine milligram equivalents (MME). The most current MME conversion file, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, removes buprenorphine, a partial opioid agonist, and states that the drug is not likely to be associated with overdose in the same dose-dependent manner as pure opioid agonists. NCQA removed it from the UOD measure in HEDIS 2019. This change aligns with the decision made by the Pharmacy Quality Alliance, the organization that developed the measure from which UOD was adapted for use in HEDIS.
