Attention, NCQA-Recognized prevalidation vendors and practices: Prevalidation program changes are coming

December 30, 2014 · NCQA

NCQA is changing its program that awards automatic credit to PCMHs using prevalidated HIT vendors.

What Are the Changes?

For practices: We are enhancing and streamlining the HIT vendor review process to allow more HIT products to earn prevalidation automatic credit, which they can confer to practices seeking PCMH 2014 recognition. Check our list to see if the HIT products you use are on it!

Patient-centered specialty practices (PCSP) will soon have the opportunity to use automatic credit from an NCQA prevalidated HIT vendor. The first prevalidated PCSP product will be announced in the first half of 2015.

For vendors: Enhancements will define program requirements, offer more guidance on identifying “vendor-eligible” factors and include formal, vendor-specific training/ consultation. NCQA will add more vendor prevalidation reviewers in January, to accommodate the volume of new-vendor applications and to help existing vendors maintain prevalidation status.

More information on the updates can be found here.

What is prevalidation?

Prevalidation identifies EHR systems, registries, population health management tools and technologies that align with PCMH (and soon, PCSP) requirements. Practices that use prevalidated tools know their systems can support a successful survey, freeing them to focus on the real work of PCMH transformation. Prevalidated tools can save time, reduce paperwork and relieve administrative burdens.

Find out more about the benefits of using a prevalidated vendor here.