NCQA's New Specialty Practice Recognition Program Public Comment Opens Today: June 11 - July 6, 2012

From Monday, June 11 - Friday,  July 6, 2012 all parties are invited to comment on proposed standards for a new product that is tentatively titled the NCQA Specialty Practice Recognition Program (SPR) 2013.   The enormous success of the Patient-Centered Medical Home 2011 has helped many primary care practices to transform. NCQA is developing a recognition program for specialty practices to support coordination of care between primary care and specialty practices. The goal of SPR 2013 is to recognize specialty practices that successfully collaborate with their primary care colleagues, the patient and each other. The program will have specific expectations for:Timely access to patient-centered careCoordination between primary care, specialty practices and the patient and familyAgreements between specialists and primary care clinicians to timely coordination of care and exchange of information Measuring performance and implementing continuous quality improvementIncorporating Meaningful Use to support patient care, communication and safetyThe program is designed for specialty practices with a range of types of specialty practices and patient relationships that may include consultation, co-management with primary care and temporary or permanent responsibility for care management.   As with PCMH 2011, NCQA will not require all items to be met to achieve SPR Recognition. NCQA appreciates the time and effort organizations invest in providing comments. All feedback submitted within the public comment period is reviewed and addressed by NCQA. Links to public comment materials are posted on the NCQA website. For more information on public comment, visit our website, www.ncqa.org or contact NCQA Customer Support at (888) 275-7585.