Accreditation Standards Developed for Comprehensive Wellness Programs
URAC announced that its Board of Directors has approved standards and measures for its Comprehensive Wellness Accreditation program.
These innovative standards reinforce and support the commitment that employers and wellness organizations have to ensuring the health and productivity of America's workforce, officials with the nonprofit organization said. Comprehensive Wellness is the first new accreditation program from URAC with integrated program evaluation and performance measurement components..
"Worksites have a powerful impact on individuals' health, since most adults typically spend half or more of their waking hours at work," said Garry Lindsay, managing senior fellow-senior program officer for the Partnership for Prevention. "Having credible standards for comprehensive health management programs, including worksite wellness, will help bring a needed focus on prevention that benefits companies and workers alike. Addressing the true drivers of health care costs is critical to prevention centered health reform, as advocated by Partnership for Prevention.".
The Comprehensive Wellness Accreditation program answers the need for national standards to measure the effectiveness of these programs that focus on health promotion, chronic disease prevention and health risk reduction..
"URAC's Comprehensive Wellness Accreditation standards and measures are an excellent structure to guide wellness organizations in their pursuit of quality, while still allowing the market to evolve and improve," said Gail Levenson, RPh, CDE, CGP, director of health management services, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. "Purchasers are seeking ways to measure the effectiveness of wellness programs. Accreditation is a critical tool employers and purchasers can use to evaluate vendors on a level playing field.".
For more information, visit www.urac.org.