Minnesota plans unite to set "best practices" for disease management

For the first time, major health plans are supporting common guidelines for a variety of diseases. But some physicians question whether more guidelines are needed.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. April 2, 2001.

Less than two weeks after an Institute of Medicine report called for better cooperation in the health care industry, five Minnesota health plans started working together to promote standardized guidelines to treat and prevent about 50 common conditions.

The health plans hope to improve quality of care by recommending Minnesota doctors follow "best practices" protocols when dealing with ailments such as hypertension, diabetes and asthma. Organizers say the effort is the first of its kind in which all major health plans in a state support a set of guidelines for a variety of diseases.

"If my colleagues and I are all using the same guidelines, it creates a standard of care," said Brian Rank, MD, medical director of HealthPartners Medical Group, a division of HealthPartners, one of the five plans. The other participating plans are Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Medica, PreferredOne and UCare Minnesota.

"It saves hearts; it saves eyes for diabetics. By following measures of care, we are actually providing better care," Dr. Rank said.

But getting everyone to embrace the guidelines may be tough.

"Some physicians would not be receptive to any guidelines coming from whoever, short of coming from God Almighty -- and even then, there may be some questions," said Blanton Bessinger, MD, president of the Minnesota Medical Assn.

The five Minnesota health plans agreed in March to endorse evidence-based guidelines developed by the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement, a Minnesota-based, nonprofit organization that provides health care quality improvement services to 21 medical groups, including the Mayo Clinic. ICSI has developed guidelines since 1993, and some health plans have used its protocols. [...]