NCQA Celebrates Health Care Quality Week by Highlighting Quality Innovators

WASHINGTON, October 22, 2024 (Newswire.com) - The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) today celebrated Health Care Quality Week by announcing the three recipients of the 2024 NCQA Health Innovation Award: Elevance Health, UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. In its fifth year, the award recognizes U.S.-based health care organizations for implementing forward-thinking initiatives that improve both quality and value.

The NCQA Health Innovation Award is presented annually to accredited health plans and practices. NCQA also recognizes organizations that support delivery system redesign and patient engagement initiatives (including digital engagement strategies) to drive integration across the care delivery system and support person-centered care. The Awards panel reviews evaluation submissions on their innovation and creativity; sustainability; scalability; impact on intended audience; distinction from existing approaches; potential to affect quality and cost; and value for payers, providers and patients.

“During Health Care Quality Week, we proudly celebrate trailblazers who are successfully setting new standards in health care quality,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. “The award recipients are driving transformational changes throughout the health care industry and in their local communities, and their dedication and ingenuity mirror our mission to advance health care quality for all. We celebrate the success and contributions of these innovators and their commitment to the relentless pursuit of a healthier and more equitable future.”

Two award recipients and quality accelerators in health care, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and UniCare of West Virginia, will spotlight their successful projects at the upcoming NCQA Health Innovation Summit in Nashville, Tennessee on October 31, 2024. The award-winning Elevance Health project was recently highlighted in an episode of NCQA’s Quality Matters podcast. For more information about the NCQA Health Innovation Awards, please visit https://www.ncqa.org/about-ncqa/sponsorship/ncqa-innovation-awards.

About the NCQA 2024 Health Innovation Award winners and their initiatives:

• Elevance Health: Specialty Provider Enablement Partnered with Value-Based Care Solutions Achieve Better Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes. 

Between 2018 and 2021, the rate of maternal deaths has increased by 80% in the U.S. A data review of Elevance Health maternal and child health indicators, demonstrated a tremendous need to drive engagement at the provider practice level. Based on a strategic focus of advancing maternal birth outcomes, Elevance Health designed the specialty provider enablement program to engage and collaborate with providers and hired OB practice consultants (OBPCs) to partner with OB specialty providers. Since inception, 33 OBPCs have collaborated with more than 2,400 providers. They have successfully enrolled and aligned providers around value-based performance incentives, ensuring timely access to prenatal and postpartum care, while serving as a trusted, clinical partner. These partnerships, when combined under the OBPC program, have consistently decreased costs for moms and infants and improved outcomes. 

• UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia: Access to Clean, Safe Drinking Water. 

During the past decade, West Virginia residents have dealt with issues regarding access to clean, safe drinking water. The UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia, Inc., Population Health team developed an initiative around clean, safe water after the discovery of a lead contamination. The Safe Water Workgroup consisted of cross-functional team members including a Master of Public Health candidate who conducted localized research. The “Water Quality and Accessibility Project” reveals that access to clean, safe drinking water is a health equity issue. As a response, UniCare developed SWAT H20 to conduct outreach, provided a filtered water pitcher to members, developed a scalable playbook for communities to respond to water quality issues, and relief and resources, while working with local and state partners on long-term solutions. 

• Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Breaking Down Health Equity Barriers with Provider-Led Bundles. 

Health equity is an important focus for employers. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Tennessee’s largest private employer, reimagined employee health benefits by piloting programs aimed at transforming patient care and reducing costs and access barriers. For Vanderbilt Health Employer Solutions (VHES) employer partners, the MyHealth Bundles program has proven to remove barriers to care while improving outcomes and reducing costs. On a mission to improve the health of their staff, Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) focused on a significant health issue: obesity. Fifty percent of MNPS’s adult high-cost claimants are obese, and obesity disproportionately affects minority groups, which make up 33% of its employee population. 

The MyWeightLossHealth Bundle offers a care plan with a no co-pay option, no out-of-pocket costs, and less invasive ways to lose weight. Each bundle features tailored care navigation, nutrition, exercise, psychological support, and patient communication. Since the program introduction, it’s seen a 50% increase in Black patients enrolled. In 2022, patients who chose the surgical option had an average weight loss of 29.3% at one-year post-operation, and MNPS saw a total estimated savings of $120,000. With the Bundle, MNPS employees have lost more than 7,000 pounds and co-morbidities have seen dramatic improvement.

About NCQA

NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA Accredits and Certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also Recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA’s Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS^®) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA’s website (ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers and others make informed health care choices. NCQA can also be found at Twitter/X @ncqa and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/ncqa.

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Source: National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)