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Three Hospitals in Western Pennsylvania Earn Designation
PITTSBURGH, March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield has named Allegheny General Hospital, UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside and UPMC Passavant as Blue Distinction Centers for Complex and Rare Cancers.
Complex and rare cancers comprise approximately 15 percent of new cancer cases each year, making it difficult for patients to locate or research facilities with oncologists or surgical teams that are experienced in treating these specific malignancies.
Blue Distinction Centers for Complex and Rare Cancers are facilities
within participating Blue Cross and Blue Shield network service areas that
offer comprehensive inpatient cancer care programs for adults, delivered by
multidisciplinary teams with subspecialty training and distinguished
clinical expertise in treating the following complex and rare subtypes of
cancer:
-- acute leukemia (inpatient/non-surgical)
-- bladder cancer
-- bone cancer
-- brain cancer -- primary
-- esophageal cancer
-- gastric cancer
-- head and neck cancers
-- liver cancer
-- ocular melanoma
-- pancreatic cancer
-- rectal cancer
-- soft tissue sarcomas
-- thyroid cancer -- medullary or anaplastic
The Blue Distinction Centers for Complex and Rare Cancers designation is focused primarily on multidisciplinary treatment planning and complex, major surgical treatments.
"This program supports Highmark's consumerism approach to give members a greater hand in their health by providing tools to help members make informed choices about their health care," said Carey Vinson, M.D., vice president for quality and performance management at Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. "The Blue Distinction Centers designation offers members reliable quality-based information pertaining to Blue network-participating facilities when selecting a provider."
Among other selection criteria, these hospitals met the following
thresholds necessary to be named as a Blue Distinction Centers for Complex
and Rare Cancers:
-- has multidisciplinary team input, including sub-specialty trained
teams for complex and rare cancers and demonstrated depth of expertise
across cancer disciplines in medicine, surgery, radiation oncology,
pathology and radiology
-- demonstrates ongoing quality management and improvement programs for
cancer care
-- demonstrates an ongoing commitment to using clinical data registries
and providing access to appropriate clinical research for complex and
rare cancers
-- demonstrates sufficient volume of experience in treating rare and
complex cancers
Blue Distinction Centers for Complex and Rare Cancers were developed in strategic collaboration with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and input from a panel of leading clinicians and professional organizations.
Blue Distinction(R) is a designation awarded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies to medical facilities that have demonstrated expertise in delivering quality health care. The designation is based on rigorous, evidence-based selection criteria established in collaboration with leading clinicians, medical societies and professional organizations.
With the current areas, including cardiac care and bariatric surgery already in place, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield will have a more comprehensive program focused on quality specialty care compared to other health plans. This designation is for 18 months, and institutions that are a part of the program also are subject to periodic re-evaluation as criteria continue to evolve.
Note: Designation as Blue Distinction Centers means these facilities' overall experience and aggregate data met objective criteria established in collaboration with expert clinicians' and leading medical societies' recommendations. Individual outcomes may vary. To find out which services are covered under your policy at any facilities, please call your local Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield Plan.
About Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield
As one of the state's leading health insurers with nearly 70 years of community involvement, Pittsburgh-based Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield serves 3.1 million members. The company's mission is to provide access to affordable, quality health care enabling individuals to live longer, healthier lives. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield employs more than 5,000 people in the region and provides the resources to give its members a greater hand in their health.
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans.
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