Healthcare accreditation, compliance and program development, led by the former COO and General Counsel of URAC

IHS helps healthcare organizations of every kind meet the standards they are held to. If you are earning accreditation, we take you through it. If you are building a new program, we write the policies and structure it needs. If you are staying compliant with regulators, payers and contracts, we keep that work current.

IHS was founded in 2002 by Thomas G. Goddard, JD, PhD, former Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of URAC. Every engagement is principal-led, scoped to your situation, and delivered by the people you meet on the first call.

Three practice lines cover the work: Accreditation Consulting, Compliance Services, and Program Development. Many clients use more than one at a time.

IHS works across URAC, NCQA, NABP, ACHC, HITRUST, CARF, FACT, DNV, NCCHC, AAHRPP, 340B and more.

Who we work with

Health plans and PBMs
Specialty, mail and community pharmacies
Health centers and primary care associations
Remote monitoring organizations
Behavioral health organizations
Correctional health programs
UM, IRO and IME organizations
Credentialing organizations
Network dispute-resolution entities
Government health networks

NCQA accreditation and recognition engagements are led by Maureen Plumstead.

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Why IHS

Principal-led. When you hire IHS, you work directly with Dr. Goddard — not a junior associate. Every deliverable is reviewed and shaped by the principal who served as URAC's COO and General Counsel.

Built inside URAC. Dr. Goddard was URAC's Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel before founding IHS in 2002. That inside knowledge of how accreditation programs are built now serves IHS clients across the accrediting bodies.

Three practice lines under one roof. Most accreditation-only firms cannot handle standalone compliance work, and most compliance shops do not understand the accrediting bodies. IHS covers accreditation, compliance and program development, so clients who need more than one line of work do not have to coordinate across firms.

One firm for multiple programs. Since 2002, IHS has taken healthcare organizations through accreditation, compliance and program development work. IHS covers URAC, NCQA, NABP, ACHC, HITRUST, CARF, FACT, DNV, NCCHC, AAHRPP, Joint Commission, 340B, and more — because healthcare organizations often need multiple programs simultaneously, and coordinating them across firms creates friction, duplicated work, and inconsistent documentation.

Scoped per engagement, no fee lists. Every IHS engagement begins with a complimentary discovery call that produces a fixed-fee proposal tailored to your situation. Fees are customized based on organizational complexity, documentation maturity, and timeline — not pulled from a price list.

What IHS Does — Three Practice Lines

IHS work falls into three practice lines. Many clients engage IHS across two or more at once. For the complete catalog, see our Services page.

1. Accreditation Consulting

Getting an organization through a third-party accrediting body's process — initial, re-accreditation, or multi-body coordinated. IHS covers URAC, NCQA, NABP, ACHC, HITRUST, CARF, FACT, DNV, NCCHC, AAHRPP, Joint Commission, and more. Typical engagements include gap analysis, documentation development, mock surveys, and survey support.

2. Compliance Services

Standalone regulatory compliance work that is not tied to an accreditation cycle — ongoing monitoring, state and federal mandate response, cybersecurity and privacy, and regulatory change management. IHS compliance engagements often run in parallel with accreditation work or as independent long-term retainers.

IHS also supports clients with state health plan mandates, CMS updates, telehealth and RPM regulatory change management, HIPAA and healthcare cybersecurity, and ongoing compliance program monitoring outside the accreditation cycle. Contact us to scope a compliance engagement.

3. Program Development & Standards Development

IHS does not only help clients meet standards — IHS helps clients build programs and standards from the ground up. Program development engagements produce the operational infrastructure (policies, procedures, quality management systems, program architectures) that a client needs before they can pursue accreditation or operate a new line of business.

Typical program development clients are organizations entering a new line of business (a health plan adding a PBM, a pharmacy adding specialty, a hospital standing up a cellular therapy program), organizations that need to build a compliance function from zero, and organizations designing new healthcare delivery models that anticipate future accreditation or licensure.

Who IHS Serves

IHS engages with health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, specialty pharmacies, mail service pharmacies, compounding pharmacies, DMEPOS suppliers, dialysis centers, behavioral health organizations, cellular therapy centers, correctional healthcare systems, IRBs and research protection programs, home health and hospice agencies, federally qualified health centers, telehealth platforms, remote patient monitoring vendors, healthcare cybersecurity teams, 340B-covered entities, and clinical laboratories.

IHS clients typically fall into one of three buyer profiles, and many clients fit into more than one at once:

Accreditation seekers. Organizations pursuing initial or re-accreditation to unlock payer contracts, satisfy state licensure, or prepare for a survey cycle. Entry point: accreditation consulting.
Compliance operators. Organizations already running their programs who need ongoing regulatory compliance support, state mandate tracking, or help responding to a specific regulatory event. Entry point: compliance services.
Program builders. Organizations entering a new line of business, launching a new service, or building a function from zero. They need the program architecture before they need the accreditation. Entry point: program development.

A health plan entering the PBM market often needs all three at once: a program build for the new line, ongoing compliance for the state mandate environment, and URAC or NCQA accreditation to unlock payer network participation. IHS coordinates across the three practice lines instead of forcing clients to juggle multiple firms.

How Engagements Work

Every IHS engagement begins with a complimentary discovery call with Dr. Goddard. During the call, we discuss your organization's current documentation maturity, timeline, regulatory constraints, and strategic goals. At the conclusion of the call, you receive a fixed-fee proposal tailored to your specific situation.

Accreditation engagement phases typically include: (1) gap analysis against current standards, (2) documentation development and remediation, (3) Standard-by-Standard Review, (4) mock survey or desk review, (5) survey support, and (6) post-survey corrective action planning if needed. Compliance engagements are typically structured as ongoing retainers with quarterly deliverables. Program development engagements produce operational infrastructure on a milestone-based schedule. The depth and duration of each phase depend on your organization's starting position and the practice line involved.

Ready to Start?

Schedule a complimentary discovery call with Dr. Goddard. No obligation, no fees, no generic pitch deck — just a real conversation about your accreditation, compliance, or program development goals and a scoped proposal tailored to your situation.

Schedule a Free Discovery Session

Or browse the complete Services catalog, meet the IHS team, read our company history, or learn why organizations hire healthcare consultants.