URAC Releases Revised Standards For Nine Health Care Management Accreditatio...(p Information is key to empowering con...),Health

Information is key to empowering consumers to manage their own health care, yet it is often difficult for consumers to find in a format that is easy to understand. The introductory health literacy standard now included in URAC's Core Standards requires organizations to:

-- Put consumer materials in plain language;

-- Assess the use of plain language in consumer documents; and

-- Provide information and guidance on health literacy to staff who write consumer materials.

In addition, URAC's new Disease Management Standards include a requirement for accredited organizations to establish a framework that systematically provides the right information at the right time to the consumer. The standard calls for accredited organizations to:

-- Have a plan addressing the delivery of health information to consumers;

-- Proactively provide accurate, comprehensive information that is easy to use; and

-- Evaluate consumer health information for accuracy and appropriateness for the population served.

"URAC's new disease management information therapy standards send an important message that high-quality, chronic care management requires a patient-centered approach," said Joshua Seidman, Ph.D., president of the not-for-profit Center for Information Therapy (http://www.ixcenter.org/). "These standards set an important quality bar for disease management; for DM to work, it must be supported by the proactive delivery of information targeted to a consumer's moment in care and tailored to his or her individual needs."

The revised Core Standards also address issues in health care designed to promote greater efficiency in the health care system, such as support for interoperable health information technology. New standards also require the use of national quality measures, where they exist, as benchmarks for quality improvement projects.

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