RELEASE
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan recognizes 17 hospitals for high quality and cost-efficiency in cardiac care
Meghan O'Brien
| 4 min read
DETROIT, February 23, 2016 – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has designated 17 hospitals across the state as Blue Distinction® Centers+ for Cardiac Care, part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated health care facilities shown to deliver improved patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed with input from the medical community. To receive a Blue Distinction Center+ for Cardiac Care designation, a hospital must demonstrate its expertise in delivering safe and effective cardiac care, focusing on cardiac valve surgery, coronary artery bypass graft and percutaneous coronary interventions episodes. A hospital must also have earned national accreditation. In addition to meeting established quality thresholds, these hospitals must also demonstrate better cost efficiency compared to their peers. Quality is key: only those facilities that first meet nationally established quality measures for Blue Distinction Centers were considered for designation as a Blue Distinction Center+. “The Blue Distinction Center+ designation lets our members know where they can go in Michigan to receive high-quality, cost-effective care that meets robust clinical standards,” said David Share, M.D., M.P.H., senior vice president, Value Partnerships, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. “Congratulations to all of the hospitals earning this designation for cardiac care.” Hospitals earning Blue Distinction Center+ for Cardiac Care include:
- Allegiance Health, Jackson
- Borgess Medical Center, Kalamazoo
- Bronson Methodist Hospital, Kalamazoo
- Crittenton Hospital Medical Center, Rochester Hills
- Genesys Regional Medical Center, Grand Blanc
- Henry Ford Macomb Hospital, Clinton Township
- McLaren Bay Regional Medical Center, Bay City
- McLaren Macomb Hospital, Mt. Clemens
- MidMichigan Medical Center, Midland
- Munson Medical Center, Traverse City
- Sparrow Hospital, Lansing
- Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital, Grand Rapids
- John Macomb Oakland Hospital - Macomb Center, Warren
- Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor
- Mary’s of Michigan Medical Center, Saginaw
- University of Michigan Medical Hospital, Ann Arbor
- William Beaumont Hospital, Troy
Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find high-quality providers for their specialty care needs in the areas of bariatric surgery, cardiac care, complex and rare cancers, knee and hip replacements, maternity care, spine surgery and transplants, while encouraging health care professionals to improve the care they deliver. Research shows that facilities designated as Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients compared with their peers. On average, facilities designated as a Blue Distinction Center+ for Cardiac Care are 20 percent more cost efficient in an episode of care compared to health care facilities that don’t have the Blue Distinction Center+ designation. For more information about the program and for a complete list of the designated facilities, please visit bcbs.com/bluedistinction.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more company information, visit bcbsm.com and MIBluesPerspectives.com.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for nearly 105 million members – one in three Americans. For more information on the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and its member companies, please visit BCBS.com. We encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out The BCBS Blog for up-to-date information about BCBSA. Blue Distinction Centers met overall quality measures for patient safety and outcomes, developed with input from the medical community. A local Blue plan may require additional criteria for facilities located in its own service area; for details, contact your local Blue plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable health care. Each facility’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its local Blue plan. Facilities in California, Idaho, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington may lie in two local Blue plans’ areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own local Blue plans decide whether one or both cost-of-care evaluations must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider’s in-network status or your own policy’s coverage, contact your local Blue plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue plans are responsible for noncovered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers. Photo Credit: Steven Depolo
