One of the certifications offered through URAC is the URAC PCHCH Auditors Certification.  PCHCH stands for patient centered health care home accreditation. Please see our spotlight services blog which defines PCHCH and emphasizes how BHM Healthcare Solutions can assist you with achieving PCHCH accreditation.

According to the URAC website, PCHCH Auditor Certification is intended for entities whose responsibility lies in external verification of the degree of successful implementation of the patient centered health care home by clinician-led health care practices. URAC’s PCHCH Auditor Certification uses national standards evaluated and approved by broad-based stakeholder process involving over 60 participants representing medical and nursing practice, case management, consumer organizations, payors, and providers. URAC PCHCH standards provide the essential foundation for payors, patients, and providers to collaborate in enhancing quality health care services across the continuum through shared accountability in a patient centered health care home.

URAC’s PCHCH Auditor Certification is offered to health management organizations desiring to provide independent PCHCH practice assessment audits of health care practices. URAC’s PCHCH Auditor Certification provides assurance to health care practices that their auditors are licensed, qualified and specially trained health care professionals who understand the complexities of care coordination. The URAC PCHCH Auditor Certification requires URAC Core accreditation, assuring that the auditing organization meets desirable standards of operation and quality management prior to performing practice audits. URAC provides the certified auditor with access to and training on tools that support verification that a practice successfully meets a baseline percentage of select URAC PCHCH essential standards. Auditors also obtain the tools and capabilities to validate practice performance on any additional URAC PCHCH standards required by a payor as a component of a quality pay for performance program.

URAC’s PCHCH Auditor Certification is offered to health care organizations, health plans and consulting companies desiring to provide independent PCHCH practice assessment audits to health care practices and uses URAC’s Core Module Standards, assuring that the organization meets specified standards prior to performing PCHCH practice audits.

URAC’s PCHCH Auditor Certification includes:

1. Core Accreditation Standards v 3.0
2. URAC’s PCHCH Primer – an electronic tool for comparative analysis of practice performance with the URAC
3. URAC PCHCH standards
4. 3 year core accreditation with URAC PCHCH Auditor Certification
5. Auditor licensure and training eligibility requirements
6. URAC issued practice audit tool and observation validation prior to achieving URAC PCHCH Auditor designation
7. Mid-cycle monitoring onsite
8. HIPAA Business Associate Requirement
9. Auditor Inter-Rater Validation of URAC issued Practice Audit Tool

BHM Healthcare Solutions is currently working toward URAC PCHCH Auditor Certification. Our accreditation survey is scheduled for July 2012. URAC PCHCH Certified Auditors are able to provide URAC PCHCH auditor services through the provision of independent PCHCH practice assessment audits for health care practices.