Margaret E. O'Kane on healthcare accreditation. Interview by Wanda Bishop and Kevin C. Park

Since 1990, Margaret E. O'Kane has served as president of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), an independent, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of healthcare everywhere. Under O'Kane's leadership, NCQA has developed broad support among the employer and health plan communities; today many Fortune 100 companies will do business only with NCQA-accredited health plans. About three quarters of the nation's largest employers use Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) data to evaluate the plans that serve their employees. O'Kane was named Health Person of the Year in 1996 by the journal Medicine & Health. She also received a 1997 Founder's Award from the American College of Medical Quality, recognizing NCQA's efforts to improve managed care quality. In 1999, O'Kane was elected a member of the Institute of Medicine. In 2000, she received the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Champion of Prevention award, the agency's highest honor. CDC names a Champion of Prevention infrequently and only when an individual has made a truly notable contribution to advancing preventive healthcare. O'Kane began her career in healthcare as a respiratory therapist and has a master's degree in health administration and planning from Johns Hopkins University.