URAC Releases Revised Standards For Nine Health Care Management Accreditatio...( Changes include new health litera...),Health

Changes include new health literacy standard across all health care management programs

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- URAC's Board of Directors has approved comprehensive revisions to nine of the organization's health care management accreditation programs. The changes include additions to URAC's Core Standards that address the need for greater consumer empowerment and health care transparency. The Core Standards are foundational standards for organizational quality that are a part of all of URAC's health care management accreditation programs.

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In addition to changes to Core Accreditation, URAC's Board approved revised standards for Independent Review Organization, Disease Management, Health Utilization Management, Workers' Compensation Utilization Management, Health Call Center, Credentials Verification Organization, Claims Processing and Consumer Education and Support accreditation programs.

"The Core Standards help organizations define quality systems and set the framework for continuous quality improvement," said Douglas Metz, DC, chairman of URAC's Health Standards Committee and chief health services officer for American Specialty Health. "The new standards both advance the consumer focus in health care management and continue to raise the bar on organizational quality improvement efforts. The standards reflect significant input and recommendations from policy and corporate leaders across the health care management stakeholder spectrum."

The new standards support consumer empowerment through an emphasis on health care literacy. The Health Standards Committee met numerous times to ensure that this and other major health care policy issues were addressed in the revised standards, and consulted focus groups that included industry experts and other stakeholders. '/>"/>