Blues to study its own "best practices"

Researchers will scrutinize initiatives that show promise of saving health care dollars.

By Robert Kazel, amednews staff. Oct. 27, 2003.

The national BlueCross BlueShield Assn. has hired a small team of researchers at Harvard Medical School to study initiatives that individual Blues plans have formulated to reduce medical costs.

The new program, called BlueWorks, will spread the word to all its affiliates and the health care industry in general about money-saving strategies that may be worth considering.

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Blues plans on a quarterly basis will be asked to submit descriptions of programs they've developed that are intended to save patients money while still maintaining high standards of care.

The research team then will review the nominees and select about six to eight programs each quarter as being particularly meritorious, said Barbara McNeil, MD, PhD, a nuclear medicine physician and professor of health care policy at Harvard.

"The goal is not to identify non-transferable programs that can succeed [only locally]," Dr. McNeil said. "We really want everyone to get a lot bang from these initiatives."

The Chicago-based Blues association will publish and distribute the researchers' comments among the 42 plans licensed to carry the Blues logo.

42 health plans are licensed to carry the BlueCross BlueShield logo.

The first BlueWorks report will be published in January 2004, Dr. McNeil said. It is not known how long the program will continue.

Serving on the BlueWorks committee with Dr. McNeil are Harvard educators David Blumenthal, MD, professor of medicine and health care policy; Edward Guadagnoli PhD, associate professor of health care policy; and Richard Frank, PhD, professor of health economics.

The team also will produce a yearly, in-depth evaluation of a single Blues program, product or partnership that has had particular success in holding the line on costs without sacrificing quality, Dr. McNeil said.

The cost of the BlueWorks program is not being made public, but will be borne by the national association, not by the individual plans, said Jackie Fishman, Blues spokeswoman.