Health

KONZA Among First to Earn Validated Data Stream Designation in New NCQA Program

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TOPEKA, Kan. (PRWEB)

The Kansas Health Information Network, Inc. dba KONZA announced today that it has earned the Validated Data Stream designation in the new National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Data Aggregator Validation program. KONZA is part of the first NCQA cohort to voluntarily seek and earn the new NCQA validation.

The NCQA Data Aggregator Validation program evaluates clinical data streams to help ensure that health plans, providers, government organizations and others can trust the accuracy of aggregated clinical data for use in Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) reporting and other quality programs. Data streams that earn validation undergo a rigorous, end-to-end look at the quality and integrity of data and the procedures used to manage and safeguard it. From ingestion at primary sources through transmission to end users, participation verifies adherence to NCQA process, system and data standards.

“NCQA’s Data Aggregator Validation program helps identify clinical data that can be trusted and sets a high bar for how the data are managed,” said NCQA President, Margaret E. O’Kane. “We are excited that organizations like KONZA are working to improve trust in clinical data and help ensure the data’s accuracy and broader usability.”

Seen as a vital, early step in achieving NCQA’s vision of a digital measurement ecosystem, validated data flows also improve the efficiency of today’s quality measurement processes. Uniquely accepted as standard supplemental data in HEDIS® audits, no primary source verification is required for HEDIS reporting when health plans report data from Data Aggregator Validation validated sources.

“The NCQA Data Aggregation Validation provides assurance to our members, payers, patients and technology partners that the data KONZA provides represents the highest standard in the market in terms of standardization, normalization and deduplication,” said Laura McCrary EdD, President and CEO of KONZA. “In the past, the process of collecting HEDIS data was inefficient and costly to payers. KONZA helps health plans gain access to standard supplemental data that does not require point of service verification. This could mean better STAR Ratings and higher reimbursement for payers.”

KONZA worked in conjunction with leading data interoperability vendor Diameter Health to earn NCQA validation. “We have been a trusted partner to KONZA for providing standard, accurate and optimized multi-source clinical data for nearly a decade, and we are proud to deepen our partnership with them as an NCQA certified data partner,” said Diameter Health’s Chief Product Officer, Ashley Basile, Ph.D. “By being among the first to successfully participate in Cohort 1 of the program, KONZA and Diameter Health are part of a small group of organizations to demonstrate they can meet the rigorous standards set by NCQA for data trustworthiness and usability for quality reporting.”

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 @ncqa, on Facebook at facebook.com/NCQA.org/ and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/ncqa.

About KONZA

KONZA operates exchanges in multiple states, including Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, New Jersey, California and Connecticut. KONZA is deeply committed to connecting healthcare providers, patients, health plans, and our technology partners to organize data into information that will drive healthcare transformation. Patients, health plans, physicians, healthcare facilities and other healthcare providers from across the country benefit from KONZA’s delivery of unequaled actionable intelligence. For more information, visit http://www.konza.org.

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