Accreditation organizations create standards that drive the quality of care that is delivered by providers. Accreditation organizations accredit organizations that provide health care (e.g. hospitals, pharmacies, physician practices, etc)  Accreditation organizations include quality improvement in their standards, and health care organizations undergoing accreditation often need to provide data on how they are measuring the quality of their services, including data generated from quality measures.

Center for Pharmacy Practice Accreditation

The Center for Pharmacy Practice Accreditation (CPPA) is a partnership established by the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) to oversee accreditation of pharmacy practice sites. CPPA develops pharmacy practice standards and accredits those pharmacy practices that provide high quality, safe and efficient pharmacy care.   

Learn more about CPPA. 

URAC

URAC plays a unique role because it was established independently of any other stakeholder. URAC promotes health care quality through accreditation, education, and measurement. With a diverse representation of consumers, providers, employers, regulators, and industry experts, URAC is deemed credible in the healthcare arena. URAC’s measures and standards are supported by evidence and reviewed by a broad range of healthcare stakeholders.

URAC believes it is imperative to help consumers make informed choices of health plans which is why they value to use of quality measures. URAC’s quality measures are parallel to the six national quality measure domains provided by the HHS National Quality Strategy as well as with the requirements stated in the Affordable Care Act. Their measures are focused on the following:

• Wellness and Health Promotion
• Care Coordination
• Medication Safety and Care Compliance
• Rewarding Quality
• Care Delivery through a Network
• Mental Health Parity
• HIPAA Breach Requirements
• Measures — patient centeredness, coordination of care, patient safety, health plan administration, efficiency, effectiveness of care and HIT integration
• Patient Experience of Care (CAHPS® Survey)

Learn more about URAC Measures.