CVOs come in several shapes and sizes and provide a variety of services to their customers. If you think the unifying factor among successful CVOs is that they are all NCQA-certified, you are wrong. Just as not all hospitals are Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO)-accredited, not all CVOs go through the NCQA survey process. Nevertheless, many of them do. Certification is one criterion that customers should check when shopping for a CVO. Other criteria include the price and scope of services, accessibility, and turnaround time for primary source verifications. Certification is one of the options considered when a CVO decides how the organization will manage itself.