10 organizations test NCQA's ACO accreditation

Ten healthcare organizations have finished testing the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) accreditation program for accountable care organizations (ACOs).

The month-long pilot test analyzed whether organizations could reasonably collect and submit information for the program. It marked a final step in the year-long collaboration between NCQA and stakeholders to create ACO standards that improve the probability that these new entities will be successful in achieving improvements in quality and value, Washington, D.C.-based NCQA stated.

Participants responded in February to NCQA’s call for volunteers, and then completed the trial collection and submission of data between March 14 and April 11, the organization stated.

Participating healthcare organizations were:

  • Billings Clinic, Billings, Mont.
  • Gundersen Lutheran Health System, La Crosse, Wis.
  • HealthCare Partners, Torrance, Calif.
  • Health Partners of Minneapolis
  • Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, Houston
  • Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx and Westchester, N.Y.
  • Mount Auburn Hospital, Cambridge, Mass.
  • Northwest Physicians Network, Tacoma, Wash.
  • Prevea in partnership with Health Hospital Sisters Health System, Green Bay, Wis.
  • San Juan IPA, Farmington, N.M.

NCQA will use feedback from the pilot test to revise its standards before it issues final ACO accreditation guidelines in July, the organization stated.

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