Dec 8 2009
Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ: HWAY) today announced the organization is
among the first in the nation to receive National Committee for Quality
Assurance (NCQA) Wellness and Health Promotion (WHP) accreditation,
making the company an early adopter. More than three-fourths of the
nation’s leading employers offer wellness programs, making WHP
accreditation an important comparison point when considering vendors for
health and wellness programs and services.
Healthways was designated as Accredited with Performance Reporting,
which is granted to wellness and health promotion organizations that
have submitted a specific number of results for NCQA’s standardized WHP
Performance Measures. This level of accreditation is beyond standard WHP
accreditation, and includes measures like Risk Assessment and
Identification, Population Engagement and Overall Risk Reduction.
“NCQA’s Wellness and Health Promotion accreditation requires
organizations to demonstrate their compliance with well-defined
standards and quality measures,” said Margaret E. O’Kane, NCQA
president. “The NCQA seal will provide employers and consumers with the
information they need to choose the best program in their markets.”
The WHP accreditation involves rigorous review of the key functions
wellness and health promotion organizations perform and focuses
specifically on areas of interest to consumers and employers. Healthways
also holds NCQA verification for its Disease Management programs.
“Achieving NCQA Wellness and Health Promotion accreditation reinforces
the quality of Healthways’ products and services,” said Pamela A. Hara,
Healthways’ director of compliance and privacy. “This important
accreditation is another way we can assure our customers we are
committed to bring them proven quality, value and results.”