National pharmacy chain CVS Caremark recently received full NCQA Patient and Practitioner Oriented Disease Management (DM) accreditation by the Accordant Health Services division to start programs that will support a wide range of diseases, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (UC). The programs are designed to provide patients and practitioners with support, education, and other help necessary to facilitate positive outcomes and quality care.
The NCQA DM Accreditation grants the DM program the status to help purchasers evaluate practices and to improve patient care and service. According to the company, the program is the most comprehensive option for both patients and practitioners. The programs are designed to improve interventions with patients, as well as to improve the interaction between patients and practitioners to support their plan of care.
“Earning this accreditation from NCQA demonstrates Accordant’s commitment to improving the overall health and well-being of the patients we support,” said the Chief Medical Officer of CVS Caremark, Troyen A. Brennan, MD. “Our coordinated, holistic care management programs provide patients with the support and tools necessary to help them holistically manage their rare diseases while working to improve health outcomes and reduce avoidable utilization.”
NCQA, a private non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality, accredits and certifies healthcare organizations based on measurable performance in Evidence-Based Programs, Patient Service, Practitioner Service, Care Coordination, Measurement and Quality Improvement, and Program Operations. “NCQA’s Disease Management Accreditation program is thorough and rigorous. It’s designed to highlight only those programs that truly improve chronic care,” explained the NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane.
“Earning NCQA accreditation provides our clients with further assurance as to the quality of our care management programs for rare and complex conditions,” said the president of Accordant Health Services, Trip Hofer. “NCQA Disease Management accreditation also supports our clients in their own quality improvement activities and can help simplify the delegation oversight process.”
In addition to Crohn’s disease and UC, the CVS programs will also be directed to support Epilepsy (Seizures), Rheumatoid Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE or Lupus), Myasthenia Gravis, Sickle Cell Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Hemophilia, Scleroderma, Polymyositis, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig’sDisease), Dermatomyositis, and Gaucher Disease.