Centene Recognizes National Healthcare Quality Week and Consistent Enhancement of Care

Since first established in 1985 by the National Association of Healthcare Quality, every year during the third week in October, National Healthcare Quality Week recognizes the professionals who strives for a safe, quality patient experience throughout the industry and the outstanding achievements in healthcare quality improvement.

This year’s theme, We’re All Part of a Quality Team, celebrates the profession and raises awareness of the positive impact healthcare quality professionals have in their organizations and communities.

“Centene plays a critical role in shaping the quality of healthcare and raising the industry standard,” said Sarah Bezeredi, Senior Vice President & Chief Quality Officer at Centene. “Our purpose as a quality organization is to drive success through integrity, innovation, excellence, and continuously enhanced member care.”

Healthcare quality aims to improve our population’s overall health, enhance patient experiences and outcomes, and reduce care costs. There are many quality programs, which are essential for organizations to ensure they are making the ongoing investments and enhancements to provide our members the highest quality care.

Some programs include:

• Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS), which is one of healthcare’s most widely utilized performance tools. It is used to ensure that the public, policymakers, and payers have the information they need for apples-to-apples comparison of health plan performance.

• Medicare Stars rating system created by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) helps beneficiaries and their families compare plan performance and quality for Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare Prescription Drug Plans and Medicare Cost plans.

• The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) program is overseen by the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and includes survey products designed to capture consumer and patient perspectives on their healthcare experience.

• Accreditation is conducted by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving healthcare quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. A health plan’s accreditation status provides information on a health plan’s commitment to meeting quality standards.

Centene is consistently focused on enhancing member care and satisfaction. During National Healthcare Quality Week, the organization engages companywide in learning opportunities to further build and improve quality efforts across the enterprise, with a strong focus on patient experience and increased access to care.

“Our commitment to quality and relentless focus on serving our members will enable us to continue building on our quality efforts to enhance member care and member satisfaction with healthcare services and customer care,” said Bezeredi.