Quality Matters: A Podcast by NCQA

Credentialing rarely makes headlines, but it plays a critical role in determining how quickly patients can access care, how providers join health plan networks, and how healthcare organizations maintain quality at scale. In this episode of Quality Matters , host Tsveta Polhemus examines why credentialing has become one of the most important foundations for modern healthcare delivery—especially as...

This episode of Quality Matters examines the growing role of digital wellness and chronic condition management programs and the challenge of measuring what truly matters. Host Rachel Harrington is joined by Peter Robertson of the Purchasing Business Group on Health and California Quality Collaborative and Kevin Masci of Omada Health to discuss how digital health solutions can help address rising h...

This episode of Quality Matters examines primary care’s evolving role and features Karen Johnson of the American Academy of Family Physicians and Jeff Sitko of NCQA.  Karen and Jeff outline primary care’s distinguishing focus on patient relationships, the strain on the primary care workforce, and technology’s promise to ease burdens. The discussion connects the dots between workforce sustainabilit...

In this year-end episode of Quality Talks , Peggy O’Kane, NCQA’s founding President, sits down with Dr. Vivek Garg, incoming President and CEO. Together, they reflect on Peggy’s 35-year legacy of building the nation’s first quality measurement and accreditation programs, and discuss the future of NCQA under Vivek’s leadership. From embedding quality measurement into medical practice to tackling fr...

This episode of Quality Matters features Rupa Valdez, Professor at the University of Virginia; Polina Lissin, NCQA Senior Healthcare Analyst; and Elizabeth Ryder, NCQA Assistant Director of Product Management. Together, they unpack the meaning of disability in health care, the importance of self‑identification and how NCQA is working to improve outcomes for people with disabilities. The conversati...

This episode of Quality Matters features Misty Milby, VP of Clinical Business Development at Everlywell, and Claire Mendelson, Product Manager at NCQA. To illuminate what makes virtual care safe, effective and sustainable, Misty and Claire unpack NCQA’s new Virtual Care Accreditation program. They explore five essential standards that define excellence in virtual primary and urgent care—and share...

In this episode of Quality Talks with Peggy O’Kane, Peggy welcomes Dr. Troyen Brennan, adjunct professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, former Chief Medical Officer at CVS Health and Aetna, and author of Wonderful and Broken . With decades of experience spanning academic medicine, hospital administration and retail health care, Troy brings candor and clarity to the challenges facing Ameri...

This episode of Quality Matters features Kate Hobbs, CEO of the behavioral healthcare services company, Author Health. Aiming to help listeners navigate behavioral healthcare’s complexities, Kate outlines four essential dimensions of the field. She also explores how validated clinical tools and emerging technologies, such as wearables, can help measure what matters in behavioral health. She makes...

In this episode of Quality Talks with Peggy O’Kane, Peggy welcomes Anna Taylor, Associate Vice President for Population Health and Value-Based Care at MultiCare Connected Care in Tacoma, Washington.  From the outset, Peggy is captivated by Anna’s clarity, conviction and optimism. Anna doesn’t just understand the technical challenges of digital transformation—she makes them accessible and inspiring...

In this episode of Quality Matters, host Andy Reynolds is joined by Josh Wymer, Chief Health Information and Data Strategy Officer for the State of Missouri Health Data Consortium. Together, they explore how Missouri is building a smarter health care system that uses AI not just to automate care, but to elevate it. Drawing on Josh’s experience in clinical care and informatics, the conversation rev...

In this episode of Quality Talks With Peggy O’Kane , NCQA President Peggy O’Kane speaks with primary care and health IT veteran Dr. Marc Overhage. Marc notes that many of health care’s challenges are design problems—and design problems can be solved. The conversation highlights trailblazing models like hospital-at-home and the need for better data availability at the point of care. Marc’s optimism...

In this episode of Quality Matters , health IT veteran and standards-editor John D’Amore joins host Andy Reynolds to unpack the deeper purpose behind the push to improve data quality. Drawing on decades of experience, from startups and academic research to national standards and consulting, John explains why the real goal isn’t just clean data or seamless interoperability. It’s better care, delive...

In this episode of Quality Talks , NCQA President Peggy O’Kane speaks with Dr. Farzad Mostashari, Co-founder and CEO of Aledade. Farzad brings decades of experience in health IT, policy and primary care transformation to a candid and energizing conversation about what’s holding back US health care and how we can move it forward. Farzad and Peggy explore the structural flaws in our system, from fra...

In this episode of Quality Matters , host Andy Reynolds welcomes Bryn Rhodes and Rob Reynolds of Smile Digital Health to unravel two foundational, yet widely misunderstood, technologies in health care: Clinical Quality Language (CQL) and Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR). With decades of leadership in health care standards, Bryn and Rob share hard-earned insights, persistent miscon...

In this episode of Quality Talks With Peggy O’Kane , NCQA President Peggy O’Kane speaks with Susan Dentzer, President and CEO of America's Physician Groups. Susan brings her extensive experience in health policy to a rich discussion on the evolution, strengths and future of value-based care, particularly within Medicare Advantage. Susan explains models of care that emphasize accountability for bot...

In this episode of Quality Matters, Dr. Richard Bergenstal, Executive Director of the International Diabetes Center, joins host Andy Reynolds to explore the evolving landscape of diabetes care—from the legacy of A1C to the promise of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). Rich shares lessons from decades of clinical leadership, research and quality improvement, including his advisory role in NCQA’s...

In this episode of Quality Talks With Peggy O’Kane, NCQA President Peggy O’Kane has an energizing, constructive conversation with Dr. Will Shrank, a Venture Partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Will shares his vision for a more cohesive health care system that works based on aligned incentives, meaningful measurement of patient outcomes and savvy implementation of value-based care. Peggy and Will discu...

In this episode of Quality Matters , Jules Reich, NCQA Senior Health Care Analyst in Population Health, and Grace Glennon, NCQA Director of Digital Quality Informatics, join host Andy Reynolds to discuss the latest tool in the long crusade against tobacco use: NCQA’s new HEDIS measure, Tobacco Use Screening and Cessation Intervention (TSC-E). This measure replaces an outdated survey-based approach...

In this episode of Quality Matters , Julie Seibert, Assistant Vice President of Behavioral Health at NCQA, joins host Andy Reynolds to explore the rise of—and the relationship between—two trends in behavioral health: measurement-informed care and peer support. Julie breaks down how these strategies improve outcomes, engage patients and close gaps in access and accountability. Listen to this episod...

In this episode of Quality Talks With Peggy O’Kane, NCQA President Peggy O'Kane sits down with Dr. Rita Redberg , a cardiology pioneer and fierce advocate for evidence-based care. Dr. Redberg, who famously served as Editor-in-Chief of JAMA Internal Medicine for 14 years, shares her "Less is More" philosophy — a perspective that challenges the view that "more" care is always better. Join Peggy and...

In this episode of Quality Matters , Tonya Winders, President and CEO of the Global Allergy and Airways Patient Platform (GAAPP), joins host Andy Reynolds to unpack the diagnosis and care gaps that plague asthma treatment—from delayed access to spirometry, to underuse of biologics. Tonya explains what high-quality, patient-centered asthma care requires, and what health care leaders can do to close...

In this debut episode of Quality Talks With Peggy O’Kane , Founder and President of NCQA, Peggy is joined by Dr. Sachin Jain, CEO of SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan, to explore a provocative question: Why isn’t health care better at getting better? Measuring—Not Missing—What Matters: Anxieties about access and affordability plague everyday people. But quality measurement’s focus is elsewhere. Is h...

Why isn't health care better at getting better? Join Peggy O'Kane, founder and outgoing president of NCQA, as Quality Talks tackles this critical question. This engaging, limited-series podcast brings together health care's most innovative thinkers and doers to explore powerful ideas and real solutions needed to transform care. If you're ready to reimagine costs, quality and care delivery, tune in...

In the second episode of our special series on recommendations to the Trump administration, Quality Matters host Andy Reynolds welcomes Ryan Howells, Principal at Leavitt Partners, for an illuminating discussion on transforming digital quality and data exchange.. Ryan shares fresh ideas from the Leavitt Partners roadmap to reshape digital health infrastructure by embracing scalable, internet-based...

One-hundred days into the second Trump administration, Quality Matters host Andy Reynolds welcomes Eric Musser, Vice President of Federal Affairs at NCQA, for an insightful discussion about NCQA’s recommendations to the Trump administration for improving health care quality. Eric shares ideas to shape a strong quality future for value-based care, digital health infrastructure and behavioral health...