In July BHM Healthcare Solutions was recognized as one of four “first adopting” organizations who have already began working toward URAC PCHCH Auditor Certification. There has recently been a new approach in the marketplace for medical home recognition with the launch of URACs Patient Centered Health Care Home Programs. The URAC PCHCH Program was developed to educate and guide health care practices, and/or their sponsoring health plans, insurers, and pilot programs, as they transform into truly patient-centered health care homes. With the recent release of URAC PCHCH Practice Achievement, the demand for URAC PCHCH Auditors has grown. In July BHM Healthcare Solutions was one of four firms which were identified as “working toward URAC PCHCH Auditor Certification.”
According to URAC, the URAC PCHCH Auditor Certification is “an extension of URAC’s overall PCHCH program which will meet the needs of those entities whose responsibility will lie in independent auditing of health care home practices to determine their degree of successful achievement of the PCHCH program standards. The PCHCH Auditor Certification verifies that an organization can perform independent audits on practices against URAC’s PCHCH Practice Standards.”
Organizations who successfully meet the requirements to be PCHCH auditors will be allowed to independently audit health care practices to determine if they meet the URAC PCHCH Standards. In order to receive PCHCH Auditor Certification, an organization must first show that they themselves meet URACs stringent standards in relation to operations, training, processes, and systems. In addition, the organization must meet additional business requirements, attend specialized auditor training, and pass validation requirements. The organization must also meet all applicable HIPAA business associate requirements, and successfully undergo an evaluation in which they are tested on their understanding of the URAC PCHCH Standards.
URAC, an independent, nonprofit organization, is a leader in promoting health care quality through accreditation, achievement, and certification programs. URACs standards keep pace with the rapid changes in the health care system, and provide a mark of distinction for health care organizations to demonstrate their commitment to quality and accountability. BHMs CEO, Mark Rosenberg has stated that “we are very excited as an organization to begin to work toward URAC PCHCH Auditor Certification, as healthcare consultants we understand the importance of URAC Certification and what it means to an organization in terms of achieving national recognition. We look forward to the process of preparing for Certification, and are excited as a team to be participating the URAC process.”