URAC’s Health Website Accreditation Helps Ensure Consumer Safety

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Linda Ringquist

Original source is the URAC website – website has a list of URAC accredited websites and those in process

The URAC Website Accreditation program is a mechanism to provide feedback to health website owners on how to improve their online operations. This provides additional credibility in trust in a company’s online market. There is an abundance of information available on the internet, especially in regard to healthcare. It is difficult to discern which sites provide factual information and which do not. Which information can you depend upon? URAC developed this program to address the concerns of the consumers and provide a tool to help identify websites that meet the high standards of quality and accountability.

Accreditation by URAC ensures the health information presented is peer-reviewed, research-validated and minimizes risky decision-making by consumers. These standards focus upon:

Privacy and security
Health content editorial processes
Disclosure of financial relationships
Linking policies
Consumer complaints
Emerging best practices
Evidence-based health information

URAC accredited websites are required to disclose information to consumers including:

Site’s sponsors and financial backers
Site’s privacy policies
How the site develops health information
Site’s advertising policy

The standards apply to a large variety of health-related websites, including health care financing organizations. Health delivery organizations, health management organizations, organizations offering health resources primarily through the Internet or other electronic media, application service providers, content providers or different combination of the organizations listed above. URAC conducts periodic reviews of the accredited site on an on-going basis and a full review. The standards provide strong protections regarding the use and protection of personal information consumers may provide to a health website.

URAC is an independent, nonprofit organization, promotes health care quality through its accreditation, education and measurement programs. It offers a wide range of quality benchmarking programs and services that keep pace with the rapid changes in the health care system and provides a symbol of excellence for organizations to validate their commitment to quality and accountability.

BHM Healthcare Solutions is a behavioral health consulting firm with one of our many areas of expertise being URAC accreditation. Our URAC Accreditation Consulting can assist with URAC accreditation, URAC PCHCH Auditors Certification, and URAC Medical Home Accreditation. For more information or to schedule a free consultation, please call 1-888-831-1171.

BHM Healthcare Solutions’ Service Spotlight – URAC Accreditation Assistance

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Linda Ringquist

BHM Healthcare Solutions is a healthcare management consulting firm serving health care enterprises nationwide. BHM stands for behavioral health management and as such is our area of expertise in healthcare consulting. Some of the services we provide include, but are not limited to, financial improvement, denial management, revenue cycle, physician advisor services, clinical operations/improvement, quality improvement programs, accreditation, behavioral health executive recruitment /interim staffing, and training. Our extremely competent team of healthcare management consultants is composed of experts in our field and we possess a wealth of knowledge and experience which we would like to share with you.

Today’s spotlight features our URAC accreditation assistance service. BHM has a 100% accreditation achievement success rate. URAC stands for Utilization Review Accreditation Commission. URAC is the largest accrediting body for healthcare and has accreditation programs which operate in every state. Attaining URAC accreditation can be an overwhelming task. Our team of URAC consultants provides services which range from strategic assistance throughout the process to completely guiding your organizational efforts. We can create a plan that is specific to accomplishing your goals.

BHM understands the complexities faced by healthcare organizations who are seeking accreditation, and our valuable guidance services can serve to break down the complex components of URAC accreditation into more management tasks in order to optimize your organization’s achievements.

BHM has successfully assisted dozens of organizations gain national accreditation and through this experience has honed the process so that it is maximally efficient and cost effective for your organization. Our unique process begins with a detailed analysis cross comparing the standards with organizational policies and procedures. This is an important step in determining how far your organization needs to go in order to achieve accreditation and which areas can be strategically targeted for improvement. Our URAC consultants can review all documentation to ensure that it meets standards, complete any necessary paperwork, and develop templates to be submitted in the preferred URAC format. Additionally, our consultants can assist you in navigating through Accreditnet, URAC’s software system. To make sure that all organizational members are fully prepared, we finalize preparedness with a mock audit exercise that will walk you through the onsite visit.

Additionally, we offer URAC accreditation assistance in patient centered health care home accreditation, URAC Medical Home Accreditation, and URAC PCHCH auditors certification. These will be the focus of our next service spotlight. For more information, please visit our accreditation webpage as well as our URAC-specific accreditation page. Please contact us today to setup a free initial consultation to see how we can assist you with your URAC accreditation consulting needs by calling 1-888-831-1171.

Consumer-Driven Health Plans – What Should You Consider When Choosing?

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Linda Ringquist

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the combination of a pretax payment account with a high-deductible health plan is what is commonly referred to as a consumer-driven health plan (CDHP).⁷ In terms of payment methods, CDHPs are composed of a three tier payment system

A savings account
BHM Healthcare Solutions
Out-of-pocket payments
Insurance plan.

The first tier is a pretax account that allows employees to pay for services using pretax dollars. The account may be funded by the employer or the employee, depending on the type of account. The funds from this account can be used to satisfy the insurance plan deductible. The second tier is the difference, or the “coverage gap,” between the amount of money in the individual’s pretax account and the deductible. The amount that is not covered by the pretax account must be covered by the insured. If health care expenses exceed the deductible amount, then the third tier, the high-deductible health insurance plan, kicks in.

In an article from the URAC website, there are ten things to be considered when evaluating and choosing consumer-driven health plans and products.

Is the information regarding the consumer health driven plan available in a variety of formats and media? Is the information available in different languages as applicable? Is the information written in such a way that it can be understood easily, including to those who may have mental or physical impairments or disabilities?
Are all of the costs laid out in a manner in which deductibles, out-of pocket expenses, tax consequences and benefits are clear?
Does the information indicate clearly the details of the plan, including benefits and coverage, customer satisfaction results, and a directory of providers?
Is wellness and prevention data readily available and easily accessible?
Do you have access to a Health Risk Assessment which is evidence-based, reviewed by the organization’s top clinical staff, and provide feedback as to the health status and any recommendations to improve the current health status?
Does the plan provide data explaining the enrollees role and responsibility for making their own decisions for health care? Are there additional expert resources available to the enrollee to help answer any additional questions.
Are there specific instructions as to how to access assistance on a 24/7 basis through different media such as phone, email, and in person?
Is there a method for requesting a detail of the cost and quality for each provider?
Does the health plan provide assistance in making financial decisions about coverage gaps, managed care or review processes necessary for coverage and how to seek care once the personal health account has been exhausted?
Does the health plan reach out to those with chronic diseases to educate them about how to most effectively manage their health care?

BHM Healthcare Solutions specializes in URAC accreditation and URAC consulting. For more information regarding URAC accreditation assistance, please visit the URAC page of our website or call for a fee consultation call BHM at 1-888-831-1171 today!