URAC Timing Issues

The advent of AccreditNet has streamlined the URAC review process -- no more repackaging of the paper application and mailing the pieces among the various URAC reviewers, etc. So, what's the impact on the speed of the process?

Everything's faster. Here are some examples of expected timing of the URAC process:

• Within 5 days of submitting your initial application documents (letter of agreement, business associate agreement, etc.) you should receive an email from URAC that they've received it. If you haven't heard back from URAC, call to find out what happened, because something probably has gone wrong.
• URAC will schedule the onsite review to occur within 3 months of the submission of the full application, except for multi-module accreditations (e.g., Health Plan and Health Network), in which case the time frame is 5 months.
• You should receive the Desktop Review Summary ("DRS") from URAC within 45 days of submission of the day you submit your application.

Timing can vary throughout the year, depending on the volume of applications in a particular month, but URAC is getting increasingly consistent in hitting its turnaround targets.