The National Committee for Quality Assurance said four health systems and two multispecialty physician groups will try for accreditation as accountable care organizations this year.
The half-dozen organizations include the Billings Clinic, Billings, Mont.; Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Essentia Health, Duluth, Minn.; HealthPartners, Bloomington, Minn.; Crystal Run Healthcare, Middletown, N.Y. and the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, Houston. Organizations will undergo accreditation surveys by the end of December, the NCQA said in a
news release.
NCQA, Washington,
designated the six organizations as “early adopters” of the accreditation standards, which were released last November.
Accountable care offers healthcare providers financial incentives to meet targets for quality performance and cost control. To be eligible to seek NCQA accreditation, the ACO must cover at least 5,000 patients.
