Castell Earns Highest Possible NCQA Case Management Accreditation With Score Above 99
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has awarded the highest level of case management accreditation to Castell, a value-based care subsidiary of Intermountain Healthcare.
Castell scored 99.36 out of a possible 100 points, which earned the value-based care organization a three-year accreditation.
Accredited organizations must meet 10 NCQA standards for case management. Case management consists of an organization’s efforts in identifying patients’ unique care needs, care planning, monitoring, managing transitions of care, measurement and quality improvement, staff training and verification, commitment to patient rights and responsibilities, and following privacy, security and confidentiality procedures.
Castell’s care management program exists to help meet comprehensive medical, behavioral, and social needs of patients and their families while promoting quality and cost-effective outcomes.
“This accreditation is the gold standard when it comes to managing patients’ care in value-based arrangements,” said Will Daines, MD, Castell’s interim chief operating officer and medical director of clinical operations. “Care management is one of Castell’s core strengths, and it plays a vital role in our ability to manage complex patients and help providers succeed in value-based care.”
While Castell received the accreditation, this recognition signals another major step forward for Intermountain Healthcare in value-based care.
“Complex care management is a critical component in succeeding in population health and ensuring the highest risk patients meet quality and cost outcomes,” said Maria Hill, associate vice president of enterprise care management for Intermountain Healthcare.
“This accreditation demonstrates the quality of our care management program, which is being requested by both provider-based and payer-based customers in global risk arrangements with Castell. Achieving this high score was accomplished by coordinating with the full continuum of care management services, and partnering with Intermountain Healthcare providers and in-patient, ambulatory, community, and post-acute teams to achieve strong outcomes,” she added.
NCQA accreditation standards are developed with input from researchers in the field, the case management expert panel and standing committees, employers, both purchasers and operators of case management programs, state and federal regulators and other experts.
These standards are intended to help organizations achieve the highest level of performance possible, and create an environment of continuous improvement.
“Case management accreditation moves us closer to measuring quality across population health management initiatives,” said Margaret E. O’Kane, president of the NCQA. “Not only does it add value to existing quality improvement efforts; it also demonstrates an organization’s commitment to the highest degree of improving the quality of their patients’ care.”
