Accordant Health Services, a CVS Caremark Company, Receives URAC Case Management Accreditation

WOONSOCKET, R.I., March 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) announced today that Accordant Health Services has been awarded Case Management Accreditation from URAC, a Washington, DC-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.  Accordant Health Services met URAC's Case Management Accreditation standards, which require companies to establish processes to assess, plan and implement case management interventions. The accreditation is valid through March 1, 2016.

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"We are very excited to have received URAC accreditation," said Trip Hofer, President of Accordant Health Services. "We understand that holistically supporting individuals who have rare conditions will impact lives and health care spend. Accreditation from URAC is important for Accordant.  It recognizes our ongoing commitment to excellence and demonstrates our passion for providing services in the highest quality manner."

Accordant Health Services provides health plans, employers and CVS Caremark Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) client members with care management solutions that are not offered in traditional health management programs.  Support is targeted to individuals who have rare, complex medical conditions requiring specialized care to facilitate improved health outcomes, self-management and communication with health care providers.  Accordant's Care Teams serve as liaisons and advocates, facilitating relationships between members, physicians, pharmacists, specialists, insurance companies and employers to address the appropriate use of health care resources.

"Accordant Health Services should be commended for meeting strict quality standards," said William Vandervennet, URAC Chief Operating Officer. "It is critically important for health care organizations to make a commitment to quality and accountability. URAC accreditation is a demonstration of that commitment."

URAC's Case Management Accreditation standards require companies to establish a process to assess, plan and implement case management interventions. The standards address approaches to ensuring appropriate patient protections have been established, such as policies for confidentiality of patient information, informed consent, dispute resolution, and other issues. The standards also cover staff structure and qualifications, quality improvement, information management, oversight of delegated functions, ethics, complaints, and the case management process.

In addition to meeting mandatory accreditation requirements, Accordant also met leading indicators identified by URAC as highly effective practices, not widely adopted in the field of Case Management.  These indicators include:

• Requirement for use of plain language in consumer materials
• Assessment of use of plain language in consumer materials
• Provision of relevant guidance to staff that develops or uses consumer materials on how to communicate in ways that are understandable to the consumer
• Requirement that nurses have mandatory case management certification within four years of hire
• Proactive verification activities for licensure and certification
• Internal information system interoperability

About URAC

An independent, nonprofit organization, URAC is a leader in promoting health care quality through accreditation and certification programs. URAC's standards keep pace with the rapid changes in the health care system, and provide a mark of distinction for health care organizations to demonstrate their commitment to quality and accountability. Through its broad-based governance structure and an inclusive standards development process, URAC ensures that all stakeholders are represented in setting meaningful standards for the health care industry. For more information, visit www.urac.org

About Accordant Health Services

Accordant Health Services, Inc., a CVS Caremark company based in Greensboro, N.C., is a care management organization  dedicated to empowering individuals with rare conditions such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, Parkinson's, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia,  to promote their total health and manage their multiple and complex diseases and needs. As a result, Accordant clients benefit from more informed and supported individuals, which leads to optimized medical and pharmacy spend. Accordant accomplishes these objectives through an Accordant Care Team that leverages deep domain expertise and proprietary tools and resources. Accordant's Medical Advisory Board is comprised of national medical experts who participate in the development and continuous quality improvement of the company's programs. For more information about Accordant, visit www.accordant.net or call 1-800-948-2497.

About CVS Caremark

CVS Caremark is dedicated to helping people on their path to better health as the largest integrated pharmacy company in the United States. Through the company's more than 7,400 CVS/pharmacy stores; its leading pharmacy benefit manager serving more than 60 million plan members; and its retail health clinic system, the largest in the nation with more than 600 MinuteClinic locations, it is a market leader in mail order, retail and specialty pharmacy, retail clinics, and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans.  As a pharmacy innovation company with an unmatched breadth of capabilities, CVS Caremark continually strives to improve health and lower costs by developing new approaches such as its unique Pharmacy Advisor program that helps people with chronic diseases such as diabetes obtain and stay on their medications.  Find more information about how CVS Caremark is reinventing pharmacy for better health at info.cvscaremark.com.

SOURCE CVS Caremark