Contact Information: Contact: Brenda Foster Phone: 208.331.6963 E-mail:
Healthwise Among the First to Receive NCQA Health Information Product Certification
Healthwise Interactive Tools Help People Make Better Health Decisions
| Source: Healthwise
BOISE, ID--(Marketwire - July 2, 2008) - Healthwise has earned Health Information Product
(HIP) Certification from the National Committee for Quality Assurance
(NCQA) for Interactive Consumer Health Tools. Healthwise is among the early
adopters of this rigorous evaluation. The NCQA HIP certification process
evaluated how Healthwise manages various aspects of data collection and
systems operations, and the process it uses to continuously improve the
services it provides.
The new NCQA HIP certification program assesses organizations that develop
and provide content, tools, and services to health plans. HIP Interactive
Consumer Health Tools certification option is structured to be consistent
with NCQA health information standards.
"NCQA has a long and respected history of advancing the quality of
healthcare. Healthwise is honored to be among the first to be
NCQA-certified for consumer health interactive tools," said Donald W.
Kemper, Healthwise founder and CEO. "The certification lets the public know
that the information and tools they are using have passed rigorous
inspections for quality, usability and accuracy. All of us at Healthwise
are proud of this accomplishment."
"Earning NCQA's HIP Certification demonstrates that an organization has
expertise in gathering and disseminating health care information for health
plan members," said Kathleen C. Mudd, NCQA Vice President Product Delivery.
"Healthwise is to be commended for being one of the first organizations in
the nation to be reviewed for these services."
Consumers use interactive tools in the Healthwise Knowledgebase to learn
important facts about their health concerns, including finding out if they
are at risk for a heart attack or stroke, how much smoking costs, or how
many calories they burn during physical activities.
Health plans and other organizations license products from Healthwise, such
as the Knowledgebase, so that their members have access to evidence-based,
easy-to-use, and easy-to-understand health tools and information. Providing
health information can help health plans improve the quality and cost of
care for their members.
About Healthwise
Healthwise is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make
better health decisions. Nearly 100 million times a year, people turn to
Healthwise information to learn how to do more for themselves, ask for the
care they need, and say "no" to the care they don't need. Healthwise
partners with health plans, hospitals, disease management companies, and
health Web sites to provide up-to-date, evidence-based information to the
people they serve. To learn more about the Healthwise Information Therapy
(Ix®) Solution, visit www.healthwise.org or call 1.800.706.9646.
© Copyright 2008, Healthwise, Incorporated.
Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo
are trademarks of Healthwise.
1.800.706.9646
www.healthwise.org