ROSEVILLE, Calif., March 10, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the healthcare debate plays out in Washington, three organizations here in California are moving forward on an innovative pilot program to improve quality and lower costs for thousands of patients each year.
Adventist Health, Blue Shield of California and The California Health Care Coalition (CHCC) have entered into a unique partnership – bringing together a health system, a health plan, and large group purchasers – to launch the Hospital Quality Improvement pilot. The goal: to demonstrate that improvements in quality and patient care not only benefit patients' well-being, but lead to lower overall costs.
"This pilot program will demonstrate that Adventist Health, Blue Shield and CHCC can create an environment in which hospitals are supported and motivated to dramatically improve quality through focused collaboration," said Ken Stuart, chairman, CHCC. "We believe that California purchasers and consumers will select higher quality providers when they have meaningful data to help them make their choice."
Adventist Health, Blue Shield and CHCC will jointly review current hospital performance data to establish measurable quality improvement goals and are exploring ways to financially reward participating hospitals for meeting or exceeding top national quality standards. The three-year pilot will rely on data that hospitals currently collect and report to state and federal agencies.
Hospital quality in California varies widely – different facilities see very different hospital-based infection and complication rates, medical error rates, and rates of adherence to treatment guidelines. Sub-standard quality not only harms patients, but actually inflates the cost of health care by increasing lengths of stay, readmissions and the use of health resources.
The Central Valley pilot will initially involve four Adventist hospitals – Central Valley General Hospital and Hanford Community Medical Center, both in Hanford; San Joaquin Community Hospital, based in Bakersfield; and Sonora Regional Medical Center, located in the Sierra Foothills.
About Adventist Health
Adventist Health was selected as the pilot partner because of its strong presence in the Central Valley market and its commitment to quality improvement. Over the past two and a half years, Adventist Health has made a significant investment in raising quality across the system of 17 hospitals in four Western States.
About Blue Shield of California
Blue Shield of California, an independent member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, is a not-for-profit health plan dedicated to providing Californians with access to high quality care at a reasonable price. Founded in 1939, it now has 3.4 million members, 4,800 employees, one of the largest provider networks and more than 20 office locations, providing a wide range of commercial and government products throughout the state. Blue Shield of California has contributed more than $100 million over the past three years to the Blue Shield of California Foundation, which this year was named one of http://images.businessweek.com/ss/10/01/0114_most_generous_corporate_foundations/21.htm">BusinessWeek's top 20 most generous corporate foundations. The Foundation works to improve access to quality health care in California by funding nonprofits across the state. Contact your local agent or broker for more information about Blue Shield products and services, or visit the Blue Shield web site at https://www.blueshieldca.com/">www.blueshieldca.com.
California Health Care Coalition
The California Health Care Coalition is a membership organization of public and private sector employers, unions, employer organizations and Health & Welfare Trust Funds currently representing 4 million Californians. CHCC's mission is to collaborate with all health care stakeholders to promote high quality health care for all Californians. To achieve this, CHCC endeavors to represent purchasers of health care by engaging health plans, hospitals, physicians and service providers in collaborative efforts to improve on the quality and appropriateness of health care as a means of improving outcomes, saving lives and, ultimately, reducing the overall cost of health care services.