NCQA’s Data Aggregator Validation (DAV) Program

 

January 17, 2023 – PRESS RELEASE

QMetrics serves as Validator for the 5th Cohort of NCQA’s Data Aggregator Validation (DAV) Program

Thirty-one organizations across the country have completed the DAV Program since its launch in Summer 2021. New organizations are participating in Cohort 5, which starts on January 17, 2023 (in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 16, 2023).

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and QMetrics have kicked off Cohort 5 of the DAV Program with 17 participants from various states across the country. Cohort 5 provides an exciting mix of participants, including new organizations coming through for the first time, organizations returning for re-validation and introducing new data streams, and organizations joining as Data Partners who support participants. Data Partners achieve a status of Certified for specific standards in the DAV program that may aid participants in achieving Validation. In addition, organizations require re-validation annually to ensure processes and data integrity are maintained. Most importantly, participants achieving a validated status may share data for use as standard supplemental data for HEDIS® reporting.

“NCQA is excited for the fifth participant cohort of its Data Aggregator Validation program. We appreciate the work of all organizations involved in this program and the effort to bring more trust, comparability and utility to clinical data streams for use in HEDIS and beyond,” said Wendy Talbot, NQCA AVP Measure Collection and Audit.
The primary goals of the DAV Program are to increase interoperability in quality reporting and decrease the provider burden of manual data collection. As a result of the program, health plans have increased access to reliable standard HEDIS supplemental data, and providers can anticipate lessened administrative burden. Since program inception, the DAV program has performed 53 validations, which cover 31 organizations located in 18 states, touching millions of lives across the vast majority of the United States. QMetrics has validated over 8,976 data sources.
QMetrics has served as Validator since the DAV Program inception. Cohorts 5 and 6 align with the HEDIS supplemental data deadline for Measurement Year 2023 reporting. The sixth cohort of the DAV program will begin in July 2023. Contact NCQA to apply.

Since the program’s pilot phase, QMetrics has collaborated closely with NCQA to develop and solidify the program protocols, standards, and primary source verification (PSV) methodology to review and evaluate all primary data sources used in data outputs. As a result, DAV is the first program in the country to validate data streams shared between Electronic Health Records (EHRs), data aggregators, and third-party recipients (e.g., health plans).
“Through each cohort, we continue to see great interest and growth in the DAV program. Participants are recognizing the important roles they play toward improving quality healthcare outcomes, accurate data information exchange, and interoperability. They see the value of how data quality can impact health and healthcare. Participants have acknowledged the DAV program as being key to driving internal process improvement where data quality is now the focus of everyone’s role” said Suzan Mora Dalen, CEO and founder of QMetrics. “Program refinements continue to be made as more insights are gained and we are provided with the opportunity to evaluate the inner-workings and challenges of data exchange. Each organization has dedicated a substantial amount of time and resources to completing the program and continue to demonstrate their commitment to increasing data quality.”

 

HEDIS® is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

 

About QMetrics

QMetrics is an audit and consultancy firm founded in 2006 by HEDIS auditor Suzan Mora Dalen, MPA, CHCA, and is co-led with Chief Health Economist Jim Dalen, MA. The organization brings extensive experience in health care and focuses on consulting in the areas of Data Aggregator Validation & Audits, Timely Access Surveys, Value-Based Reporting and Quality Measurement, Regulatory and Compliance, Advanced Data Analytics, and Encounter Data Evaluation. More information can be obtained at www.qmetrics.us or by emailing info@qmetrics.us.

 

July 26, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – DAV Cohort 4

 

February 28, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – DAV Cohort 3

 

November 20, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – DAV Cohort 2

 

October 29, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Digital Quality Leaps Forward for Health Information Exchange Pilot

 

September 1,2021 – PRESS RELEASE – QMetrics selected as DAV validator and Cohort 1 Commences Program