URAC Wellness Standard 13 -– Innovative Practices

This standard suggests that, if the organization experiments with new, innovative practices that do not yet have a foundation in evidence, it should collect data to help create such an evidentiary foundation.

This is a leading indicator standard.  It reflects URAC's commitment to the use of data collection, measurement and evaluation to guide healthcare organizations as they navigate uncharted waters.  

While the current draft doesn't say what evidence would be required, one can extrapolate from other standards that an applicant would submit, for desktop review, something akin to a Quality Improvement Project Description Form, which outlines baseline measurements, clearly stated objectives, a complete description of the intervention, and a plan for remeasurement and evaluation of results.  The onsite review will involve an examination of the background data underlying that description form combined with the clinical and administrative leaders of the innovative intervention.