URAC renovated its Core Accreditation model into something new and innovative: its Certification of Organizational Management. What is this new program, and why did URAC create it?

Businesses prefer to work with other accredited organizations; however, not all organizations are eligible to apply for accreditation. Think medical transportation services, continuing medical education (CME) providers, and independent medical exam (IME) coordinators. These companies – some of which are Core accredited – may now apply for this new certification, which replaces the Core “stand-alone” accreditation.

Key features of the Certification of Organizational Management program are listed below. It is now available for purchase, and URAC anticipates that new sales of this program will make strong contributions to top-line growth for 2018.

• ELIGIBILITY: All prospective applicants must be approved to apply. They include:
• Companies currently accredited under URAC’s Core accreditation.
• Any first-time applicant ineligible for another URAC accreditation or certification.
• STANDARDS: URAC’s Certification of Organizational Management uses all Core v4.0 standards except for the following:
  • C-RM 2-2: Pharmacy Emergency Management Plan^­
  • C-CPE 3-4: Employment Screening^­

^­Apply only to organizations handling pharmaceuticals.

• C-OPIN 4-1: Delegation Management^­­

^­­Organizations seeking this certification cannot delegate functions covered by the Core standards.

• CERTIFICATION CATEGORIES: Applicants may either achieve or fail to achieve certification.
  • There are no conditional certification, provisional certification, or corrective action categories (as there are for accreditation).
• APPLICATION PROCESS: The process is the same as the accreditation process.
  • Prospective applicants sign a Certification Application Agreement.
  • Part 1 and Part 2 of the application are completed in AccreditNet.
  • Validation review (on-site or virtual) is conducted.
  • Certification status is determined by the Accreditation Committee.
• URAC WEBSITE POSTING: Certified companies will be listed in the URAC directory for certifications, which will be separate from the directory for accreditations.