URAC Poised to Accredit Healthcare Websites - also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare/Commission - Brief Article

Health Management Technology, Oct, 2001

URAC has launched the nation's first independent program to certify websites demonstrating excellence. URAC's new accreditation program will identify healthcare websites that meet quality and accountability requirements based on ethical standards developed by the Internet Healthcare Coalition and other organizations.

Among the 53 standards are requirements for a disclosure of financial relationships; authors, sources and dates of content; whether user information is collected and how it's used; and a consumer complaint mechanism. The standards also require websites to monitor and maintain their quality over time.

Websites seeking URAC accreditation must document how their sites comply with standards. A URAC reviewer will analyze the application, view the website to assess compliance, travel to the site of operations to interview staff and observe other aspects of the operation. Successful websites receive two-year accreditation certificates.