URAC held its annual Joint Advisory Group meeting in Washington, DC this past May. There were 37 volunteers in attendance on Day One, and 32 in attendance on Day Two, plus numerous URAC staff – including Reviewers. 

The volunteers represented URAC’s four standing advisory groups:

• Accreditation Committee (AC)
• Health Standards Committee (HSC)
• Measures Advisory and Research Group (MARG)
• Pharmacy Advisory Council (PAC)

URAC hosted two guest speakers to address the theme of healthcare integration. The first was Roger Kathol, M.D., who is on the URAC Board of Directors representing the American Psychiatric Association, and Founder of Cartesian Solutions, Inc.™ Dr. Kathol focused on the integration of behavioral health services. The second speaker, Christopher Kennedy, MSM, Chief Operating Officer at Heritage Biologics, spoke to the integration of pharmacy services.

The presentations were followed by a series of polling questions related to URAC’s programs and the theme of integration. There was general agreement that national standards can be written in such a way as to promote healthcare integration, where data supports that integration is a factor for achieving better health outcomes.

The volunteers continued providing URAC with their input throughout the two-day meeting. Breakout sessions continued the polling, but this time the topic was on accreditation application tools (e.g., crosswalks, self-evaluations, and lists). URAC will use this information to make decisions on priority and content for future client tools. The MARG held its quarterly meeting on Day One, and continued measures discussions on Day Two.

Dinner afterwards provided opportunities for networking, discussion, and mingling.  A post-meeting survey revealed that the volunteers valued the updates on URAC, the guest speakers, and the polling sessions. Additionally, URAC obtained input on existing programs, ideas for future programs, and standard revisions.