CVS Caremark's Accordant Health Services Receives NCQA Disease Management Accreditation

WOONSOCKET, R.I., Aug. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) announced today that its Accordant Health Services division has received full NCQA Patient and Practitioner Oriented Disease Management (DM) accreditation for programs to support: Epilepsy (Seizures), Rheumatoid Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Parkinson's Disease, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE or Lupus), Myasthenia Gravis, Sickle Cell Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Hemophilia, Scleroderma, Polymyositis, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease), Dermatomyositis, and Gaucher Disease.

Earning full NCQA DM Accreditation is an indication that a DM program is dedicated to giving patients and/or practitioners the support, education and other help necessary to facilitate good outcomes and good care. NCQA's DM Accreditation program is designed to help purchasers evaluate DM programs and to improve patient care and service.

Patient and practitioner oriented DM accreditation is the most comprehensive option and is for organizations that work with both patients and practitioners. These programs address interventions toward patients and interact with the patients' practitioners to support their plan of care.

"Earning this accreditation from NCQA demonstrates Accordant's commitment to improving the overall health and well-being of the patients we support," said Troyen A. Brennan, MD, Chief Medical Officer of CVS Caremark.  "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."

Accordant's DM accreditation is based on the following categories of standards: Evidence-Based Program; Patient Service; Practitioner Service; Care Coordination; Measurement and Quality Improvement; and Program Operations.

"Earning NCQA accreditation provides our clients with further assurance as to the quality of our care management programs for rare and complex conditions," said Trip Hofer, President, Accordant Health Services. "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," said NCQA President Margaret E. O'Kane.

About NCQA
NCQA is a private, non-profit 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 is committed to providing health care quality information for consumers, purchasers, health care providers and researchers.

About Accordant Health Services
Accordant Health Services, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CVS Caremark based in Greensboro, N.C., proactively supports and empowers individuals with rare conditions (17 conditions which include multiple sclerosis, lupus, Parkinson's, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease) to improve their total health and manage their multiple, complex needs.  Accordant's Medical Advisory Board is comprised of national medical experts who participate in the development and continuous quality improvement of the company's programs. For more information about Accordant, visit www.accordant.com or call 1-800-948-2497.

About CVS Caremark
CVS Caremark is dedicated to helping people on their path to better health as the largest integrated pharmacy company in the United States. Through the company's more than 7,600 CVS/pharmacy stores; its leading pharmacy benefit manager serving more than 64 million plan members; and its retail health clinic system, the largest in the nation with more than 800 MinuteClinic locations, it is a market leader in mail order, retail and specialty pharmacy, retail clinics, and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans. As a pharmacy innovation company with an unmatched breadth of capabilities, CVS Caremark continually strives to improve health and lower costs by developing new approaches such as its unique Pharmacy Advisor program that helps people with chronic diseases such as diabetes obtain and stay on their medications. Find more information about how CVS Caremark is reinventing pharmacy for better health at info.cvscaremark.com.

Contact:
Christine Cramer
CVS Caremark
(401)770 3317
[email protected]

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SOURCE CVS Caremark