This is part 1 of a 2-part series on the impact of NCQA validated data.
We marked a significant annual milestone at Hixny this month: the release of our first NCQA validated dataset to a health plan for the HEDIS® measurement year. As we gear up for what promises to be our most comprehensive reporting cycle yet, I found myself reflecting on how dramatically this process has evolved over the years—and how that evolution is delivering more value than often gets recognized.
When we first pursued NCQA Data Aggregator Validation (DAV) back in 2020 as part of their pilot program, we submitted traditional source data streams. Now, in addition to traditional contributors, we’re taking in unvalidated data from other health information networks (HINs) and getting that validated as well, creating a more comprehensive view of care that crosses organizational and geographic boundaries.
One year ago, in December 2024, we also became NCQA’s first validated data stream specifically focused on health-related social needs data, further demonstrating our unwavering commitment to data quality across every dimension of healthcare.
Growth Demonstrates Trust
The numbers tell a compelling story beyond growth in volume. They demonstrate a growing confidence among health plans that the validated data from HINs—like Hixny—can deliver accurate and complete data necessary for quality measurement.
From November 2024 to November 2025, we’ve seen remarkable growth driven by the addition of a new payer partner:
- 83% increase in unique patient count: from 727,176 to 1,332,487 patients.
- 95% increase in NCQA documents available through our data warehouse: from 4,240,515 to 8,273,307 documents.
In short, we’ve practically doubled the number of validated data points to help providers and payers more accurately measure quality.
Our primary source validation (PSV) performance has strengthened as well—PSV is the first step in the NCQA DAV process. It requires a comparison of data in provider electronic health records systems (EHRs) to the data being sent to HINs. The goal is to ensure the data coming to us matches what the provider is documenting. In our most recent results, 92% of the primary source clusters we submitted for verification passed, a significant increase from the 76% pass rate in our prior two-year cohort.
This improvement demonstrates that as we’ve scaled, we’ve refined our processes and enhanced quality controls. Not only are we bringing on new sources that have better quality data from the start, but we’re also strengthening relationships by helping existing contributors improve their data, bringing them from a “fail” two years ago to a “pass” in 2025.
Successfully validating a higher percentage of data streams while simultaneously expanding our network shows that growth and quality aren’t competing priorities at Hixny, they reinforce each other.
Our data contributors also now span 38 New York counties—61% of all counties in the state—and three in Vermont. This breadth means that health plans working with Hixny can access validated data across a truly regional footprint, reducing the need for separate validation processes with individual provider organizations across dozens of communities throughout New York and into New England.
Beyond Clinical Data—The Expanding Scope
While it’s always energizing to see bigger numbers, what excites me about where we are today versus 2020 is the breadth of data type we can now validate.
Hixny’s collaboration over the years with Healthy Alliance demonstrates our understanding that addressing health-related social needs isn’t just good medicine, it’s a critical piece of care. With New York’s Health Equity Reform 1115 Waiver Amendment in effect, it’s also now essential for succeeding in value-based contracts.
As I mentioned previously, at the end of 2024, Hixny became NCQA’s first validated data stream specifically focused on health-related social needs (HRSN) data. This validation means health plans can track and report on social needs screening and interventions with the same confidence they have in clinical quality measures. This evolution and willingness to be a pioneer in the HRSN data space underscores our dedication to comprehensive data quality.
As is evident from our commitment to the NCQA DAV process, we’re not just trying to check compliance boxes when it comes to data quality. And as I’ll share in Part 2 of this blog, health plans are telling us just how impactful this focus is on producing measurable improvements in patient outcomes and creating real efficiency gains—for both themselves and providers.
Part 2 coming next week.
