FARMINGTON, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC), a non-profit standards development organization and accrediting body, participated in a hearing conducted by the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS). Held June 20 in Silver Springs, Md., the hearings were hosted by the Subcommittee on Standards, and focused on gathering information related to various administrative transaction standards, code sets and operating rules.
The NCVHS invited EHNAC to participate in the hearings alongside other industry participants, experts and authors of transaction standards. Presenting on behalf of EHNAC, Executive Director Lee Barrett addressed the issue of developing and implementing an Affordable Care Act (ACA) health plan compliance certification program.
During his presentation, Barrett outlined the advantages gained through the use of an existing accreditation program framework, such as the EHNAC HNAP Payer accreditation. This approach would ease the demands of implementation and decrease the time required for finalization and execution. Leveraging the standards development process (SDO) already utilized, additional criteria enhancements from the industry could be accommodated to ensure industry requirements are incorporated.
“EHNAC processes and methodology are well entrenched and tested within the healthcare community,” Barrett stated in his testimony. “Many payers already mandate EHNAC accreditation as part of requests for information and proposals (RFI/RFPs) today, and are familiar with the national reputation and structure our programs provide.”
With the framework already in place, Barrett proposed the following next steps for NCVHS to consider:
- Convene an industry advisory group of stakeholders to review, enhance and reach consensus on the criteria;
- Identify beta payer organizations to validate the program and provide feedback;
- Hold webinars and industry feedback groups to review program-specific criteria and solicit input; and
- Incorporate industry feedback to refine and finalize for general release.
Additional topics of discussion during the hearing included the industry status and implementation issues/updates regarding 5010, operating rules, the designated standard maintenance organization (DSMO), ICD-10, unique device identifiers, and the dental code set update.
The NCVHS is the advisory body to the Department of Health and Human Services on health data, statistics and national health information policy. All meetings of the NCVHS are open to the public and the hearings of the Subcommittee on Standards are webcast live on the Internet and can be accessed via the NCVHS website.
About EHNAC
The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC) is a voluntary, self-governing standards development organization (SDO) established to develop standard criteria and accredit organizations that electronically exchange healthcare data. These entities include electronic health networks, payers, financial services firms, health information exchanges, medical billers, outsourced services and e-prescribing solution providers.
EHNAC was founded in 1993 and is a tax-exempt 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization. Guided by peer evaluation, the EHNAC accreditation process promotes quality service, innovation, cooperation and open competition in healthcare. To learn more, visit www.ehnac.org or contact info@ehnac.org.