NCQA’s results include our Health Plan Ratings, Quality Compass® and State of Health Care Quality Report.
NCQA conducts independent research and studies on behalf of organizations, foundations and government agencies on a variety of health care issues.
The Learning Collaboratives are a systematic approach to process improvement, working with stakeholders to accelerate learning and broader implementation of best practices.
Results
NCQA’s results include our Health Plan Ratings, Quality Compass® and The State of Health Care Quality Report.
NCQA’s Quality Compass®
Quality Compass provides online access to health plan HEDIS® and CAHPS® performance data and benchmarks at the national, state and regional levels to help organizations evaluate individual and competitor performance, identify areas of improvement and set quality goals. To learn more about Quality Compass and our licensing options, visit the Quality Compass homepage for more information.
NCQA’s State of Health Care Quality Report
The State of Health Care Quality Report provides summarized performance data from the previous calendar year for key HEDIS® and CAHPS® measures. The report documents performance trend over time and tracks variation in care. To access the State of Health Care Report, visit the homepage here.
NCQA’s Health Plan Ratings
NCQA’s annual Health Plan Ratings include results for both Accredited and non-Accredited health plans. Ratings are from 0–5, in 0.5 increments. This system is similar to the CMS Five-Star Quality Rating System.
Note: Years of data used are detailed in the measure list and methodology for each applicable Ratings year.
Research
NCQA conducts independent research and studies behalf of organizations, foundations and government agencies on a variety of health care issues.
Digital Technology-Enabled Care Models for Diabetes: A Framework for Developing Quality Standards and Measures
NCQA and the American Diabetes Association have identified new ways to improve diabetes care. The recommendations come from a roundtable discussion NCQA and the ADA hosted in March 2023 about the need for standards and quality measures in the emerging field of diabetes digital technologies (DDT).
Read the whitepaper.
Birth Equity Accountability through Measurement (BEAM)
NCQA and the Reproductive Health Impact (RH Impact) are developing, testing and implementing a quality measurement approach that drives high-quality, equitable birthing care.
Read the Project Overview.
Current Health Plan Approaches to Race and Ethnicity Data Collection and Recommendations for Future Improvements
This report builds on previous work assessing the quality and completeness of race and ethnicity data collected by health plans. It summarizes data sources used by a sample of health plans today; key challenges to obtaining complete and accurate data reported by plans; and input from our advisory panel on guiding principles and opportunities for improving race and ethnicity data available to plans. Based on our findings, we make recommendations for key next steps for future work.
This work was completed with support from the Commonwealth Fund.
Health Plan Stewards of Responsible Antibiotic Use
Inappropriate antibiotic use is a long-standing public health issue. The misuse of antibiotics causes a range of problems. Of greatest concern, antibiotic misuse can lead to antibiotic resistance, which means germs like bacteria develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them.
NCQA, with support from the Pew Charitable Trusts, has created a program that highlights health plans that perform well on the HEDIS® antibiotic use measures and shares how health plan are promoting antibiotic stewardship. The new program is part of NCQA’s continued work to track and improve antibiotic prescribing in the United States.
Visit antibiotics.ncqa.org
Improving Data on Race and Ethnicity: A Roadmap to Measure and Advance Health Equity
The second of two reports, Improving Data on Race and Ethnicity: A Roadmap to Measure and Advance Health Equity, builds on an earlier report, Federal Action Is Needed to Improve Race and Ethnicity Data in Health Programs, by providing more details about race and ethnicity data collection in federally administered health programs and an expanded list of recommendations for improving the data. The recommendations consider actions for states and the private sector as well as actions for the federal government.
Read Improving Data on Race and Ethnicity: A Roadmap to Measure and Advance Health Equity.
Critical Inputs for Successful CHW Programs
This white paper describes early efforts to gain consensus on the potential value of national standards for community health worker programs, critical inputs identified as necessary for successful programs, and considerations for future work.
This paper was created in collaboration with colleagues at the Penn Center for Community Health Workers and with support from the Commonwealth Fund and the Community Health Acceleration Partnership (CHAP).
Read Critical Inputs for Successful CHW Programs.
Federal Action Is Needed to Improve Race and Ethnicity Data in Health Programs
This comprehensive analysis of how federal health insurance and public health programs collect data on race and ethnicity offers constructive solutions for improving health equity.
This is the first of two such reports in collaboration with colleagues at Grantmakers in Health and The Commonwealth Fund.
Read Federal Action Is Needed to Improve Race and Ethnicity Data in Health Programs.
Developing a Behavioral Health Quality Framework
How can organizations within systems better coordinate to achieve outcomes for individuals with behavioral health? NCQA proposes the use of a Behavioral Health Quality Framework to help systems set population health goals and align quality measurement efforts.
This study, and accompanying white paper, was funded by the California Health Care Foundation.
Read Developing a Behavioral Health Quality Framework.
Watch the October 2021 webinar, Applying the Behavioral Health Quality Framework: How Joint Accountability Can Improve Care. Or see the slides.
Serious Illness Care: Measures for Accountability
NCQA is conducting a project to develop performance measures for use in serious illness care accountability programs. The project is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Read Serious Illness Care: Measures for Accountability.
Measuring What Matters Most
NCQA and seven organizations are examining a new way to measure outcomes in older adults that focuses on person-centered outcomes—outcomes identified by individuals (and caregivers) as important.
View Person-Centered Outcome Measures: Measuring What Matters Most.
Goals to Care: How to Keep the Person in “Person-Centered”
Understanding what is most important to an individual is key to the concept of person-centered care. This report highlights in-the-field examples of keys to eliciting, understanding and attaining individual’s goals.
Read Goals to Care.
Policy Approaches to Advancing Person-Centered Outcome Measurement
People with complex needs—such as older adults with multiple chronic conditions and functional limitations as well as persons with physical, intellectual or developmental disabilities—often require combinations of medical care, behavioral health care and long-term services and supports (LTSS). Better integration of these health care services can improve care, improve quality and reduce costs.
Read Policy Approaches to Advancing Person-Centered Outcome Measurement.
Issue Brief – Quality of Child Health Care
Quality measurement can inform and encourage improvement in child health care. This issue brief proposes a measurement framework for comprehensive well-child care to capture a richer view of children’s health care and take a more efficient approach to data collection.
Read Quality of Child Health Care.
Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services: Health Care Disparities
In this Multicultural Health Care Award program, NCQA explores strategies to tie cultural awareness into existing quality improvement efforts. This work is funded by The California Endowment and supported by CMS and The Office of Minority Health.
Read CLAS: Health Care Disparities.
Improving Office Systems Leads to Better Care
Studies show improving office systems and procedures can improve quality and outcomes of health care. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supported NCQA with grants to better understand the role of practice systems for providing high-quality care in the primary care practice setting.
Read Practice Systems for Chronic Care.
Accounting for Socioeconomic Status in HEDIS Measures
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services commissioned NCQA to assess whether Medicare Advantage plans that enroll a disproportionate number of vulnerable members are systematically disadvantaged by programs that use performance measures to assess quality.
View Accounting for Socioeconomic Status in HEDIS Measures.
Improving Chlamydia Screening
This 2007 report examines Chlamydia screening in managed care organizations in the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.
Women’s Health: Approaches to Improving Unintended Pregnancy Rates in the United States
Contraception and reproductive health are important aspects of women’s health and of comprehensive, patient-centered care.
This issue brief summarizes the consensus of key opinion leaders whom NCQA convened, with support from Bayer, for a 2014 meeting on evidence-based approaches to reduce barriers to utilization of the most effective birth control methods.
Financial Conflict of Interest Information
This Policy addresses NCQA’s responsibility for ensuring objectivity in research in accordance with 42 CFR Part 50, Subpart F “Promoting Objectivity in Research,” and 45 CFR Part 94, “Responsible Prospective Contractors.”
Learning Collaboratives
National Collaborative for Innovation in Quality Measurement: Implementing and Improving (NCINQ)
This quality improvement project uses national HEDIS measures to encourage judicious use of antipsychotic medications and better depression management in youth.
View National Collaborative for Innovation in Quality Measurement.
Digital Measures Collaborative
The Digital Measures Collaborative is a joint effort between NCQA and its stakeholders to redefine quality measurement and learn how to support programs that use electronic clinical data for quality improvement. NCQA is expanding the Collaborative into a more interactive Digital Measurement Community in 2020. Please visit the link for more information on how to join and sign up.
View Digital Measurement Community.
Unhealthy Alcohol Use Screening and Follow-Up
With funding from SAMHSA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and FEi Systems, NCQA is working to improve the quality of care and health plan reporting of the Unhealthy Alcohol Use Screening and Follow Up measure through a Learning Collaborative.
View Unhealthy Alcohol Use Screening and Follow-Up.
HEDIS Learning Collaborative
NCQA convened a learning collaborative to help develop an innovative method to report HEDIS measures using data from ECDS. We piloted this new method with a set of measures for depression care.
HEDIS FAQ
Visitors to this page often check HEDIS FAQs or ask a question through MyNCQA.
HEDIS® is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).
CAHPS® is a registered trademark of the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ).
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