CVS Caremark Granted NCQA Disease Management Accreditation for CF Program

CVS Caremark recently announced that its Accordant Health Services division received full NCQA Patient and Practitioner Oriented Disease Management (DM) accreditation to start a specialized pharmacy program to support cystic fibrosis (CF), as well as programs dedicated to other serious, chronic diseases.

The programs offered by CVS Caremark are aimed to work as interventions for patients with specific, hard-to-treat diseases that interact with patients’ health practitioners in order to support their plan of care. The purpose is to engage both patients and practitioners in disease management, consistent with the belief that DM accreditation is the most comprehensive option for organizations that work with patients and practitioners.

“Earning this accreditation from NCQA demonstrates Accordant’s commitment to improving the overall health and well-being of the patients we support,” said chief medical officer of CVS Caremark, Troyen A. Brennan, MD.  “Our coordinated, holistic care management programs provide patients with the support and tools necessary to help them holistically manage their rare diseases while working to improve health outcomes and reduce avoidable utilization.”

The statute given to the programs confirms that they are DM certified and directed to provide patients and/or practitioners support, education, and other help necessary to facilitate best outcomes and care. NCQA’s DM Accreditation program is designed to help purchasers evaluate programs, as well as improve patient care and service.

“Earning NCQA accreditation provides our clients with further assurance as to the quality of our care management programs for rare and complex conditions,” stated the President of Accordant Health Services, Trip Hofer. “NCQA Disease Management accreditation also supports our clients in their own quality improvement activities and can help simplify the delegation oversight process.”

“NCQA’s Disease Management Accreditation program is thorough and rigorous. It’s designed to highlight only those programs that truly improve chronic care,” explained NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. Accordant’s DM accreditation is attributed according to the standards of Evidence-Based Program, Patient Service, Practitioner Service, Care Coordination, Measurement and Quality Improvement and Program Operations.

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In addition to cystic fibrosis, the company will also create support programs for epilepsy, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, Parkinson’s disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, myasthenia gravis, sickle cell disease, hemophilia, scleroderma, polymyositis, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease), dermatomyositis, and Gaucher disease.

Back in late May, Walgreens Alliance Pharmacy also announced that it is now offering a new program that provides medication instruction, support, and continuing guidance to patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), known as the personalized Connected Care Cystic Fibrosis Management Program.