2019 Annual Report: Advancing Health Care Quality and Value
Blues Perspectives
| 2 min read
Value Partnerships is a collection of statewide quality improvement initiatives, led by Blue Cross in partnership with hospital and physician partners, that makes health care work better in Michigan. More than 20,000 physicians and hospital leaders across the state work with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to share data and best practices that improve patient care and reduce health care costs. The groundbreaking Patient-Centered Medical Home program had the most designated practices since its launch in 2009, with more than 4,700 physicians in more than 1,730 practices, delivering care to nearly 3 million Blue Cross members in Michigan. In 2019, PCMH-designated practices continued to demonstrate higher quality scores and lower rates of ER visits and hospitalizations than non-PCMH practices. Through the Health Information Exchange initiative, we encourage providers to work with the Michigan Health Information Network, or MiHIN, which shares patient vital medical information electronically on a “real-time” basis — improving the speed, quality, safety and cost of patient care. As of December 2019:
- 137 hospitals, 248 skilled nursing facilities, 40 physician organizations and approximately 1,600 physician practices participate in real-time data sharing through MiHIN.
- The service routes information for more than 7 million Michigan patients.
- Participating hospitals send notifications for approximately 99% of all admissions statewide.
The internationally-recognized, award-winning Collaborative Quality Initiatives, led by hospital and physician partners and funded by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network, are improving health care quality and value in 17 areas of medical and surgical care. In 2019, we launched the Obstetrics Initiative with 73 Michigan maternity hospitals, to support vaginal delivery and reduce the use of cesarean section delivery among low-risk births in Michigan. In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Blue Cross in partnership with physicians at Michigan Medicine launched a registry to capture clinically rich information about COVID-19 patient care in hospitals across Michigan. The foundational Physician Group Incentive Program continued its practice transformation initiatives to address key health challenges, such as improving access to behavioral health services and medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorder. Collaboration is the building block of all Value Partnerships programs. For 15 years, Blue Cross and provider partners statewide have worked together to improve clinical quality and care processes, by collecting data and sharing best practices. In 2020, we leveraged these collaborations to help get information, funding and best practices out to Michigan providers during the COVID-19 crisis. Value Partnerships continues to build on its longstanding relationships with the Michigan provider community to improve health care quality and affordability in Michigan and beyond. Read the full 2019 Annual Report.
