URAC Core 3 -- Policy and Procedure Maintenance, Review, and Approval -- v. 2.1 revision

There are three version 2.1 changes to the standard, which is a particularly with important one because it is a mandatory standard. This standard governs the organization's policies and procedures.

1. The first change, to subsection (a), narrows the required scope of the applicant's policies and procedures. In version 2.0, the organization was required to maintain and comply with written policies and procedures that govern all aspects of its operations. The new version requires only that the submitted policies and procedures govern "core business processes of its operations related to the scope of the accreditation." In other words, if you are a multidimensional organization that is seeking accreditation for only one of those dimensions, the policies and procedures that you submit to URAC need only cover the accreditation program under which you are applying.
2. The second change, to subsection (d), liberalizes the requirement regarding where the organization indicates effective dates, review dates, and the date of the most recent revision, as well as the identification of approval authority. The original version required that this information be on the policies themselves. Version 2.1 requires that this information be either on the policies or on the master list of policies and procedures that is required to be maintained under subsection (b). By making this change, URAC has harmonized the language of the standard with the interpretation that URAC's reviewers have been applying for some time.
3. Version 2.1 adds requirement that the policies and procedures must be available to members of the applicant's staff.