Population Health Impact Institute Launches “Healthcare Transparency Accreditation Program” [TM] – H-TAP [TM]

LOVELAND, OH / November 23, 2009 / PR Newswire — The Population Health Impact Institute (PHII), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, is pleased to announced that PHII’s Board of Directors has approved the Healthcare Transparency Accreditation Program, v 1.0 (H-TAP [TM]) after two years of development.  Nurtur, a life, health, and wellness company based in Farmington, CT is the first organization to receive the H-TAP accreditation seal for five of its programs.

Thomas W. Wilson, PhD, DrPH, PHII Board Chairperson, notes “The peer-reviewed H-TAP Standards provide a scientific approach that promotes a more transparent way to view and assess the impact of interventions on stated outcomes   H-TAP allows more legitimate comparisons of claims of effectiveness across programs using different methodologies.”

“Nurtur is proud to be the first health management organization to have five of our chronic condition management programs accredited pursuant to the H-TAP Standards,” comments Bryan Mullen, Nurtur Chief Information Officer. “Historically the area of evaluation and measurement has been the subject of much debate and contention in the disease management industry.  By participating in the extremely rigorous PHII review process, and successfully completing the H-TAP accreditation for our programs, we continue to provide the confidence of transparency in demonstrating program impact to our clients.”

Nurtur received full H-TAP Accreditation for disease management programs in Asthma, COPD, Cardiac, Heart Failure, and Diabetes.   

Other companies have recently submitted H-TAP accreditation applications.  These companies offer a wide range of health care services and products.  Among a growing list of applicants, those programs “in process” for H-TAP accreditation include

    *WINhealth Partners, an HMO based in Cheyenne, Wyoming, seeking accreditation for their wellness program;

    *Craig Research Continuum, an Annapolis, Maryland based consulting firm seeking accreditation for their “eQuity Workflow Solutions” application; and

    *Universal American Corp, a Fortune 500 company based in Houston, Texas offering healthcare and prescription drug benefits products and programs to Medicare populations, seeking accreditation for their case management program.

Patricia Salber, MD MBA, Chief Medical Officer of Universal American Corp, states “H-TAP is essential for our business.  On a going forward basis, it will allow us to apply a uniform set of peer-reviewed transparency standards to different population programs–all requiring different attribution methods and metrics. One-size-fits-all does not works with shoes, or program evaluation.  H-TAP standards also provide a framework and lingo for more efficient and effective internal and external communication regarding our value.”

“In 2007, PHII began the development of the H-TAP Standards, which included a public comment period and a beta test cycle,” notes Garry Carneal, JD, MA, who served as Chair of the PHII Standards Committee.  “Initially referred to as the Methods Evaluation Process (MEP) Accreditation Program, the name was revised to the current name to more accurately reflect the focus of the benchmarking standards.  H -TAP applies a consistent set of evidence-based practices when measuring the relationship between interventions, people and change.  The H-TAP is designed to be complimentary to and support the mission of other health care accreditation agencies.” 

In addition to the H-TAP Accreditation Program, which is geared to specific programs within an organization, PHII also offers the Methods Evaluation Process [TM] (MEP [TM]) Certification Program for individuals. The MEP course is offered either online or at several workshops annually. Course content showcases the H-TAP standards, public policy issues related to outcomes and comparative effectiveness, and case examples of how this methodology can be deployed.  Course attendees must pass an exam to become MEP Certified.   

For more information about the H-TAP Accreditation Program for organizations or the MEP Certification Program for individuals, visit www.PHIinstitute.org or contact Regan Weaver at rweaver@PHIinstitute.org / (513) 349-5846.

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Population Health Impact Institute.  Founded in 2004, PHII is a 501c(3) nonprofit with a mission to promote credible, transparent, standardized, and replicable impact evaluations of defined population health management programs for public and private sector organizations through education, research and benchmarking services.  See www.PHIinstitute.org for more information.