Quality Matters: A Podcast by NCQA

This episode of Inside Health Care features a panel discussion about a joint study of chronic kidney disease (CKD) by NCQA, Duke University and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Office of Minority Health. Panelists are Matt Maciejewski, PhD, and Clarissa Diamantidis, PhD (Duke); Loida Tamayo (CMS); and Karen Onstad and Matt Brock (NCQA). CKD is a gradual loss of kidney function that begins wit...

In this episode of “Inside Health Care,” Peggy O’Kane, NCQA President, talks with Frank Micciche, NCQA VP of Public Policy and Communications, about what she learned from 2020, including her rediscovery of the importance of public health and its links with the private sector. Peggy and Frank also discuss NCQA’s priorities for 2021 and beyond: Digital quality measures , multicultural health care ,...

Dr. Douglas Jacobs In this episode of Inside Health Care, Dr. Douglas Jacobs, Chief Innovation Officer of Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services , chats with Eric Musser, NCQA Deputy Director of State Affairs about his background, how Pennsylvania responded to COVID-19 and built equity inside the department in response to America’s racial reckoning in 2020. Dr. Jacobs also talks about incenti...

Vanessa Guzman of SmartRise Health In this episode of Inside Health Care, Vanessa Guzman, CEO of SmartRise Health , chats with NCQA’s Lawrence Green about accountable care organization (ACO)-payer partnerships, risk value-based payments and improving quality in cost-related metrics. Vanessa discusses ACO and payer priorities, successful ACO-payer models and the role of quality measures in an ideal...

Vanessa Guzman of SmartRise Health In this episode of Inside Health Care, Vanessa Guzman, CEO of SmartRise Health , chats with Matt Brock, NCQA Director of Communications, about the intersection of gaps in care, population health and quality reporting. Vanessa discusses the role of preventive health, behavioral health and social determinants of health in closing care gaps. Vanessa also talks about...

Danielle Brooks of AmeriHealth Caritas In this episode of Inside Health Care, AmeriHealth Caritas’ Danielle Brooks, Director of Health Equity, chats with Dr. Michael Barr, NCQA Executive Vice President, about “The Return on Investment for Health Equity and Quality Improvement,” her presentation at this year’s Digital Quality Summit . Danielle also discusses the disproportionate effect of COVID-19...

Ashlee Wisdom of Health In Her Hue In this episode of Inside Health Care, Ashlee Wisdom, CEO and founder of Health In Her Hue , chats with NCQA’s Lawrence Green about the importance of connecting Black women with culturally competent health care providers, telehealth services and health information that centers Black women’s lived experiences. Ashlee addresses how the roots of America’s health car...

Dr. Adrienne Mims Courtesy of JenCare Senior Medical Center In this episode of Inside Health Care, Peggy O’Kane, NCQA President, and Dr. Adrienne Mims , former Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Alliant Health Solutions, current health care provider at Jencare Senior Medical Center discuss Dr. Mims’ multifaceted professional background, EHR use, solutions to health disparities and motiva...

In this episode of Inside Health Care, NCQA’s Dr. Mary Barton, Vice President of Performance, chats with Matt Brock, NCQA Communications Director, about the implications of two major study retractions from prestigious medical journals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Barton talks about the level of expertise needed to review journal articles, ensuring data quality standards and the incentive for...

We return to the Policy Primer for this edition of Inside Health Care. The aim is to explain complex health care issues in a simple, readily understandable way for policy experts… and others who may not be brushed up on the details. NCQA’s Director of Federal Affairs Paul Cotton joins us again to talk about the Taskforce on Telehealth Policy and it’s efforts to map a future for the newly embraced...

There’s something new for this edition of “Inside Health Care.” We’re calling it Policy Primer. We want to explain complex health care issues in a simple, readily understandable way for policy experts… and others who may not be brushed up on the details. This time, NCQA’s Director of Federal Affairs Paul Cotton joins us to talk about the Taskforce on Telehealth Policy and it’s efforts to map a fut...

In this episode of Inside Health Care, Dr. Daniel Alford, Professor of Medicine at Boston University and Director of Safer/Competent Opioid Prescribing Education (SCOPE) of Pain Program chats with Lawrence Green, NCQA Communications Specialist about the SCOPE of Pain Program. SCOPE of Pain is a series of continuing medical education/continuing nursing education activities designed to help health c...

In this episode of Inside Health Care, Peggy O’Kane, NCQA President, and Dr. Vivian Lee, President of Verily Life Sciences, discuss Lee’s book, The Long Fix: Solving America’s Health Care Crisis with Strategies That Work for Everyone. Dr. Lee lays out a concrete plan for paying doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies to keep people healthy while improving care and decreasing patients’ heal...

In this episode of Inside Health Care, Wendy Talbot, Assistant Vice President, Measure Collection & Audit and Lawrence Green, Communications Specialist, discuss the NCQA HEDIS Compliance Audit process and NCQA’s Data Aggregator Validation (DAV) pilot program. The Compliance Audit helps ensure accurate, reliable data can be used by employers, consumers and government to compare health plans.. T...

In this episode of Inside Health Care, Dr. Brad Ryan , NCQA’s new Chief Product Officer, and Matt Brock, NCQA Communications Director, discuss Brad’s experience and background in science, engineering and technology, and his mission to evolve NCQA’s existing product portfolio and launch new products in the digital space. Dr. Ryan also talks about how collecting and using EHRs more readily could imp...

In this episode of “Inside Health Care,” Scott Meyer, Executive Director of Value Based Care Operations at Summit Medical Group (SMG) in Tennessee and Matt Brock, NCQA Communications Director, discuss how NCQA’s Recognized Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Program transformed SMG’s more than 70 practices. Scott examines how NCQA’s PCMH Recognition program helped SMG quickly adapt to serve the n...

In this episode of “Inside Health Care,” Peggy O’Kane, NCQA President, and Frank Micciche, NCQA VP of Public Policy and Communications, discuss how NCQA plans to help shape telehealth policy as it becomes the dominant form of care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Peggy and Frank discuss the Taskforce on Telehealth Policy —convened by NCQA, the Alliance for Connected Care and the American Tel...

We want to make sure you don’t miss this. It’s an important edition of “Inside Health Care”. Last week, NCQA issued a statement about the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. The full statement is posted on our website. But here’s a small excerpt: “These terrible losses in succession, followed by violence against peaceful protesters, are unfortunately part of a larger picture...

In this episode of “Inside Health Care,” Peggy O’Kane, NCQA President, moderates an expert panel discussion to explore how health plans, systems and clinicians are using telehealth to respond to COVID-19 and how challenges and opportunities identified during the pandemic might inform the future. Panelists are Dr. Yul Ejnes, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School of...

In this episode of “Inside Health Care,” Peggy O’Kane, NCQA President, moderates an expert panel discussion to explore how health plans, systems and clinicians are using telehealth to respond to COVID-19 and how challenges and opportunities identified during the pandemic might inform the future. Panelists are Dr. Yul Ejnes, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School of...

Dr. Michael Barr, Executive Vice President, Quality Measurement and Research Group In this episode of “Inside Health Care,” Dr. Michael Barr, NCQA Executive Vice President, Quality Measurement and Research Group, and Matt Brock, NCQA Communications Director, discuss how telehealth has transformed the delivery of care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Barr discusses his experiences with telemedicin...

In this episode of “Inside Health Care,” Peggy O’Kane, NCQA President, and Frank Micciche, NCQA VP of Public Affairs and Communications, discuss the importance of public health during the COVID-19 crisis: how COVID-19 is affecting American society as well as quality measurement—and NCQA. Peggy also talks about building a telehealth infrastructure and how the virus is disproportionately impacting A...

In this episode of “Inside Health Care,” Delia Brand, Director of Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission Area Agency on Aging (AAA), and Matt Brock, NCQA Communications Director, discuss how NCQA’s Accreditation of Case Management for Long-Term Services and Supports provides a framework for improving the quality of care. Delia describes how NCQA’s LTSS Best Practices Academy helped Alabama’s 13 AAA...

In this episode of “Inside Health Care,” Thomasene Barnes, of New York Health and Hospitals , and Kelsey Keller, of Hackensack Meridian Health , discuss their PCMH Certified Content Expert (CCE) Quality awardwinning efforts with Matt Brock, NCQA Director of Communications. Thomasene and Kelsey talk about their innovative strategies for improving patient-centered care. They also discuss their leade...

In this episode of “Inside Health Care,” Dr. Christopher Grimsrud, of Kaiser Permanente Northern California; Dr. Pallavi Kamjula, of Arnot Ogden Medical Center; and Nick D’Ambra, of WellCare Health Plans, Inc., discuss their NCQA Innovation Award-winning projects with Matt Brock, NCQA Director of Communications. The awardees talk about the motivations, goals and future plans of their projects. Cli...