TierMed HEDIS Solution Ready for 2010 Reporting Season

January 1, 2011 / 3 min read

Industry-leading HEDIS quality measurement and reporting solution on track for 100 percent rating for the ninth consecutive year

Chanhassen, Minn., December 2, 2009 — TierMed Systems, a unit of Verisk Health and a leader in Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) quality measurement and reporting solutions, recently announced the beta release of its Compass Navigator and Engine software for the 2010 HEDIS reporting season. The 2010 TierMed Engine has already been certified by NCQA for 56 of 62 measures. The TierMed solution is on track to achieve 100 percent rating for all measures, without exception, for the ninth consecutive year.

Conceived as a way to streamline measurement efforts and promote accountability in managed care, HEDIS measures are now used by approximately 90 percent of all MCOs to evaluate performance in areas ranging from preventive care and consumer experience to heart disease and cancer. HEDIS consists of various measures across eight domains of care. Because the measures are so specific and collected by most health plans, HEDIS makes it possible to compare the performance of health plans on an “apples-to-apples” basis.

“We’re pleased to turn over the software to our clients so early in the reporting season,” said Mark Carlson, senior vice president of clinical quality solutions at Verisk Health’s TierMed unit. “We’re confident that our development and quality assurance efforts have resulted in an outstanding product for our clients.”

To ensure that HEDIS stays current, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has established a process to update the measurements annually. NCQA’s Committee on Performance Measurement, a group comprising a wide range of healthcare thought leaders, including physicians, purchasers, consumers, and labor and plan representatives, oversees the evolution of HEDIS. Each year, TierMed and other companies that provide the measurement and reporting capability for managed care organizations must re-certify with NCQA to ensure they are compliant with the latest measures. TierMed Systems not only consistently re-certifies but acts as a testing partner for the NCQA certification process itself.

TierMed Engine calculates HEDIS measures from source healthcare data, draws samples, assigns chase logic, and produces a number of detailed data tables. These tables are then fed to the Compass Navigator, which analyzes and reports the HEDIS healthcare data.
HEDIS measures address a broad range of significant health issues, including:

asthma medication use
persistence of beta-blocker treatment after a heart attack
controlling high blood pressure
comprehensive diabetes care
breast cancer screening
antidepressant medication management
childhood and adolescent immunization status

About Verisk Health
Verisk Health, a subsidiary of Verisk Analytics, leverages healthcare data to help businesses and governments understand their medical and financial risk for the purpose of managing costs and clinical outcomes more effectively. TierMed Systems, a unit of Verisk Health, provides end-to-end HEDIS reporting solutions and has been catering to all healthcare organizations that have HEDIS or quality reporting needs since 2002. Through the combination of leading predictive science, the finest evidence-based clinical engine, and superior technology, Verisk Health has created the most extensive independent risk assessment and decision analytics platform in the healthcare industry. Our primary focus is to identify actionable strategies for managing healthcare costs and quality at both the individual and population levels. We consistently research, evaluate, and invest in our business to ensure that we remain leaders in our industry and the most efficient and effective solution for our clients.

HEDIS® is a registered trademark of the NCQA.
Certified HEDIS® Software is a service mark of the NCQA.
HEDIS® Software Certification is a service mark of the NCQA.

Release: Immediate

Contact:
Trish Tarantino (Verisk Health)
ttarantino@veriskhealth.com
781-693-3784