National Committee for Quality Assurance (Letters) (Letter to the Editor) National Committee for Quality Assurance (Letters) (Letter to the Editor)

National Committee for Quality Assurance (Letters) (Letter to the Editor‪)‬

Social Work 2004, July, 49, 3

    • 12,99 zł
    • 12,99 zł

Publisher Description

In "Managing Managed Care through Accreditation Standards Neuman and Ptak (July 2003) extolled the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) in its mission to accredit managed care organizations (MCOs). However, the authors failed to investigate the NCQA's corporate loyalties. They simply accepted the NCQA's account of itself as "an independent, private, nonprofit organization ..." accrediting "more than 50 percent of all MCOs in the nation" (p. 385). Given social work's claim of advocacy for disenfranchised populations, it is irreconcilable to merely repeat corporate declarations when daily news stories disclose corporate deception and environmental degradation--often involving the health care industry. Scrutiny of the NCQA's economic context and corporate constituents reveals goals opposed to equitable health care. Globally, healthcare comprises 7 percent to 14 percent of gross national product. At that scale of economy, drug and insurance conglomerates seek control of the "intellectual property" related to health. Medical interventions don't just emerge from pure science. They are increasingly circumscribed by "quality control" and "best practices" standards set by corporations (McDowell, 2000), key definitions written by insurers such as medical necessity, treatment restrictions based on actuarial cost-benefit analysis, and research constricted by proprietary contractual rights (Bodenheimer, 2000). Intense corporate influence also extends to continuing education, journals, medical information companies, grand rounds, and so forth (Valenstein, 1998). All of the above are then further encoded into the "orthodox standards" of the healing arts through case law.

GENRE
Non-Fiction
RELEASED
2004
1 July
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
8
Pages
PUBLISHER
National Association of Social Workers
SIZE
174.2
KB

More Books by Social Work

A Social Worker's Reflections on Power, Privilege, And Oppression (Guest Editorial) (Personal Account) A Social Worker's Reflections on Power, Privilege, And Oppression (Guest Editorial) (Personal Account)
2008
Increasing Safety for At-Risk Adults: Screening In-Home Care Providers (Commentary) Increasing Safety for At-Risk Adults: Screening In-Home Care Providers (Commentary)
2007
Faith-Based Versus Fact-Based Social Policy: The Case of Teenage Pregnancy Prevention (Commentary) Faith-Based Versus Fact-Based Social Policy: The Case of Teenage Pregnancy Prevention (Commentary)
2005
Innovations in the Management of Child Protection Workers: Building Worker Resilience (Practice Update) (Column) Innovations in the Management of Child Protection Workers: Building Worker Resilience (Practice Update) (Column)
2004
Social Workers' Attitudes About Psychotropic Drug Treatment with Youths. Social Workers' Attitudes About Psychotropic Drug Treatment with Youths.
2006
Social Workers and the NASW Code of Ethics: Belief, Behavior, Disjuncture (National Association of Social Workers) (Report) Social Workers and the NASW Code of Ethics: Belief, Behavior, Disjuncture (National Association of Social Workers) (Report)
2008