In a recent press release from URAC, they announced the January 2018 release of Core Standards v4.0, a major revision to the standards that establish the foundational quality and compliance requirements for most of URAC accreditation programs.
The new Core Standards v4.0 will be rolled out across accreditation programs throughout 2018, starting with Case Management in January. This coincides with the release of Case Management Accreditation Standards v6.0, also a major revision.
To help URAC clients plan for compliance, URAC has prepared a rollout schedule and Q&A for the Core Standards v4.0.
Additionally, URAC will provide a free webinar for clients, URAC’s Core Standards v4.0: Key Points to Know, on October 10, 1-2:30 pm Eastern Time.
This Core revision incorporates industry best practices in several key areas, which are addressed in sections called “focus areas.” The four focus areas within the Core v4.0 module are as follows:
Risk Management. The new standards represent a significant step toward enterprise risk management (ERM). Some URAC applicants will have already implemented some variation of ERM; others will begin this journey as they implement the Core 4.0 standards. The Risk Management focus area excludes financial and strategic risk, which are outside the scope of the Core standards.
Consumer Protection and Empowerment. These standards address ethical healthcare practices, requiring monitoring and oversight of those practices.
Operations and Infrastructure. This focus area now includes business ethics.
Performance Management and Improvement. Ethical behavior is considered a key component of quality healthcare. Leadership accountability rounds out the new concepts in this revision of Core standards, and is also covered in this focus area.
URAC’s accreditation standards are developed and updated in consultation with an independent advisory committee of healthcare experts, consumers, and other health\care stakeholders as well as through public comment.
The final Core Standards v4.0 were developed after two public comment periods and more than 2,000 comments. Changes made to the proposed Core v4.0 standards after the initial round of public comments will be available for review, in addition to interpretive information about the standards and related elements of performance.
“After careful review of the extensive public comment, and input from its standing committees, URAC is prepared to release the next major revision of the Core standards,” said Cheri Lattimer, who chairs URAC’s Health Standards Committee. “The broad input from the healthcare industry was integral to this revision, which represents an important update to the standards.”
For more information on the Core Standards v4.0 or Case Management Accreditation Standards v6.0, you may reach out to URAC’s product development department by emailing productdevelopment@urac.org.
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