Contact:
Sherrie Dulworth
Vice President of Quality and Product Design
Milliman Care Guidelines
Tel +1 914 244.0067
sherrie.dulworth@milliman.com

Milliman Care Guidelines^® Mapped to NCQA National Quality Standards

Care Guidelines clinical content supports national accreditation requirements

SEATTLE –– Sept. 18, 2008 –– Healthcare organizations using the evidence-based clinical guidelines and software developed by Milliman Care Guidelines LLC, A Milliman Company, now can see specifically where and how those guidelines support quality standards such as those developed by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), a leading national healthcare accreditation group.

Major sections of the seven-product Care Guidelines series –– Ambulatory Care, Inpatient and Surgical Care, General Recovery Guidelines, Recovery Facility Care, Home Care, Chronic Care Guidelines, and Behavioral Health Guidelines –– have criteria and content that support specific NCQA standards. Milliman clinicians mapped Care Guidelines content to NCQA's Utilization Management and Quality Management and Improvement standards, and confirmed that much of the content supports those standards.

This standards-mapping approach supports Milliman Care Guidelines clients in national review and accreditation processes, said Sherrie Dulworth, RN, CPHRM, Milliman Care Guidelines Vice President of Quality and Product Design.

"Our mission is to advance the delivery of optimal healthcare," Dulworth said. "Aligning the Care Guidelines content with nationally recognized quality standards and processes is one very effective way to do that.

"This standards mapping helps Care Guidelines clients understand how to use our criteria and content to support their activity related to national accreditation or certification. Care Guidelines users can refer to mapped sections of our products to help prepare for review and to meet the quality organization's requirements," she said.

For example, NCQA's Quality Improvement Standards & Guidelines identify 14 elements that an organization's case management procedures should address. Even though NCQA has not officially evaluated the Care Guidelines standards-mapping effort, the Chronic Care Guidelines and various care management tools in Inpatient and Surgical Care already support 11 of those elements with detailed, "look-ahead" guidelines and specific assessment and evaluation steps.

For more information on mapping quality standards to the Care Guidelines, healthcare organizations should contact Tiffanie Lenderman, Manager of Strategic Outreach, via email at tiffanie.lenderman@milliman.com.

About Milliman Care Guidelines

Milliman Care Guidelines is located in Seattle, and independently develops and produces evidence-based clinical guidelines and a variety of software options that are used by more than 1,000 clients, including six of the country's seven largest health plans to support the care of nearly two-thirds of US health plan members. Covering the continuum of care, the seven-product Care Guidelines series is updated annually by an experienced team of clinicians. For more information, visit www.careguidelines.com.

Milliman Care Guidelines is a wholly owned subsidiary of Milliman, Inc. Milliman is among the world's largest independent actuarial and consulting firms. Founded in Seattle in 1947 as Milliman & Robertson, the company currently has 48 offices in key locations worldwide. Milliman employs over two thousand people, with a professional staff of more than a thousand qualified consultants and actuaries, including specialists ranging from clinicians to economists. The firm has consulting practices in healthcare, employee benefits, property & casualty insurance, life insurance and financial services. Milliman serves the full spectrum of business, financial, government, union, education and nonprofit organizations. For further information, visit www.milliman.com.