SAN DIEGO, June 3, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Healthyroads, Inc. announced today that its Population Health Program has been awarded Full Disease Management Accreditation from URAC. URAC is a Washington, DC-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.
The Healthyroads® Population Health Program, launched in 2011, combines its existing URAC-accredited comprehensive wellness (lifestyle) program with its newly-accredited disease management program to provide a broad range of health improvement services for health plans, employer groups and members. For example, the program offers smoking cessation, exercise and nutrition, and chronic condition management programs, providing extensive tools, such as a custom web portal, trackers, educational information, e-coaching classes and telephonic coaching to reduce health risks.
"This new accreditation further assures health plans, employer groups, members, and providers that ASH maintains the infrastructure, processes and commitment necessary to promote high-quality health care." said Douglas Metz, D.C., chief health services officer of Healthyroads, Inc.
Historically, Healthyroads was one of the first five companies nationally to receive Comprehensive Wellness Program accreditation from URAC. Healthyroads also continues to maintain URAC accreditation for Health Website and HIPAA Privacy and Security.
The URAC Disease Management accreditation standards promote quality and provide tools to better assess and respond to the needs of members. Standards promote evidence-based practices, collaborative relationships with providers and other health care service vendors, consumer education, and shared decision-making with consumers.
URAC's Disease Management standards are not disease-specific. They apply to all types of organizations that provide services for individuals with chronic illnesses, including health plans, pharmacy quality management companies, stand-alone disease management organizations and medical management organizations.
Performance Measurement and Reporting
URAC's Disease Management accreditation allows organizations to demonstrate quantitative results to employers and purchasers in two categories:
- Cross-Cutting – those that can be used to measure performance across diseases and disease treatments; i.e., prevention/wellness, patient engagement/patient activation, patient safety, care coordination, effectiveness and efficiency; and
- Disease-Specific – those measures that pertain to a specific disease such as diabetes, asthma, COPD, cardiovascular diseases and chronic pain.
About URAC
URAC, an independent, nonprofit organization, 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 Healthyroads, Inc.
Healthyroads, Inc., a subsidiary of American Specialty Health Incorporated (ASH), offers a wide range of population health solutions, including: the award-winning Healthyroads telephone-based lifestyle and health coaching programs, member engagement promotion programs, program management, health risk assessment, biometric screenings, claims analytics, risk stratification, outreach, incentive management programs, competitive group challenges, worksite wellness programs and/or an integrated online wellness portal, Healthyroads.com. Healthyroads offers these programs to more than 5.7 million members nationally. For more information about Healthyroads programs, visit ASHCompanies.com or call (800) 848-3555. Follow us on Twitter at @Healthyroads , on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Healthyroads, on Instagram @Healthyroads , on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/healthyroads/ and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/healthyroads.
About American Specialty Health
American Specialty Health Incorporated (ASH) is a national health services organization that provides fitness and exercise programs, population health solutions and specialty health care programs for health plans, insurance carriers, employer groups and trust funds. Headquartered in San Diego, with offices in Dallas, TX, Indianapolis, IN and Columbia, SC, ASH has more than 1,000 employees and administers services for more than 32 million members nationwide. Additional products offered through ASH and its subsidiaries include Silver&Fit®, FitnessCoach, Active&Fit®, ExerciseRewardsTM and others. For more information about ASH, visit www.ASHCompanies.com or call 800-848-3555. Follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter at @ASHCompanies.