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National Business Coalition on Health Honors Health Plan Initiatives Delivering Value for Health Care Consumers

Posted on: Monday, 6 November 2006, 15:00 CST

NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Health care consumers are benefiting from the latest efforts of health plans to integrate health information technology and develop high-quality health care programs. Four plans were honored today by the National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH), a non- profit organization of employer-based health coalitions, during its annual employer conference held this week in New Orleans. The 2006 eValue8 Innovation Awards identify and recognize the innovative and creative work of health plans.

"For years, health plans have argued that implementing new health information technology is a burdensome and costly undertaking," said Andrew Webber, president and CEO of NBCH. "But the winners of the eValue8 Health Plan Innovation Awards prove that ultimately, health care consumers benefit from better quality and lower costs when technology is used. This year's winners are excellent examples of how information technology can be used to drive quality improvement initiatives and save dollars."

All health plans that participate in the NBCH eValue8 process have made a commitment to improve the value of purchaser health care spending. The plans selected for an Innovation Award for 2006 have demonstrated strategies to address some of the most difficult issues facing health systems and purchasers: pharmaceutical management, provider support/care management and cultural competence. By sharing these ground-breaking programs with other health plans and purchasers, NBCH promotes improvement in community health systems across the country. The award is sponsored by Novo Nordisk.

The 2006 eValue8 Health Plan Innovation Award winners are: - Aetna for its Rx Check(SM) program - Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida for its Cultural Competence eLearning Program - Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado (HMO) for its HealthTRAC population management tool - Paramount HMO for its NICU Graduate Home Health Care Program

"We applaud these health plans for developing and implementing programs that address critical health care issues including safety, technology and pharmacy management," said Vernice Davis Anthony, president and CEO of the Greater Detroit Area Action Council. "As the roles of patients, providers and payors continue to change, it's these types of initiatives that are providing all stakeholders with additional information and services to make better decisions and improve the health status for their members."

Aetna's Rx Check

One of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, Aetna's Rx Check analyzes pharmacy claims daily and interacts with physicians to take advantage of opportunities to improve the quality of care, avoid adverse events and save money on drug costs for both members and their employers.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida's Cultural Competence eLearning Program

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida was recognized for implementing a comprehensive Cultural Competence eLearning Program for physicians and physician offices. This online tool provides two hours of case-based instruction on cross-cultural healthcare. By focusing on common clinical and cross-cultural scenarios the interactive program helps providers understand important cultural nuances, and deliver more effective, relevant care.

Kaiser's HealthTRAC

HealthTRAC (Tracking, Registry, and Alert Companion) is a demonstration project for the national Kaiser Permanente Population Care Information Solutions. HealthTRAC has allowed participation in several community efforts such as the Colorado Business Group on Health's Hypertension in Diabetics study and the Colorado State Immunization Registry. The interactive registry is a web-based Population Management application that affords Colorado Kaiser Permanente's health care providers the means to view and utilize extensive aggregate clinical data to improve clinical, service, safety and business outcomes across the entire service area population.

Paramount's NICU program

Paramount HMO is a regional health plan serving northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. Its NICU Graduate Home Health Care Program enables babies discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit to receive a minimum of two visits by a nurse from a Paramount Advantage home health care provider often catching complications earlier or preempting the need for hospital readmittance.

"These award winning plans are at the forefront of improving health care quality and providing value for the health care dollar," said Barbara Belovich, executive director of the Health Action Council in Cleveland. "Our members are interested in providing their employees with the best plans and through the use of eValue8, they're able to identify plans that stand apart."

Approximately 80 plans applied for the awards as part of information submitted on "Best Practices and Innovations" in NBCH's 2006 eValue8 submission tool, an annual evaluation of health plans used by employers and business coalitions. The program information was reviewed by a selection committee of eValue8 reviewers. Based on creativity, effectiveness and replicability, the submissions were narrowed down to ten semi-finalists, with four final winners.

Providing a knowledge base for employers to improve health care quality and make the most of their health care spending, eValue8 includes information on hundreds of benchmarks on critical issues such as providing quality information about doctors and hospitals, supporting health information technology, rewarding better performance, managing chronic diseases and consumer engagement and support.

About eValue8

The eValue8(TM) common Request for Information (RFI) tool is a product of the National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH). Through the support of NBCH member coalitions, eValue8 is maintained and modified to reflect the needs of employer health care purchasers. Content for the survey is coordinated using input from employers, coalitions and health plans and incorporates guidance from leading health care quality experts. Approximately 250 health plans respond to the annual request for information. Many of these plans respond through Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a leading human capital consulting firm, and strategic partner of NBCH. Widespread adoption of eValue8 has been the catalyst for improved health plan performance, efficiency and innovation nationwide. For additional information visit http://www.evalue8.org/.

About the National Business Coalition on Health

NBCH is a national, non-profit, membership organization of more than 70 employer-based health care coalitions, representing over 10,000 employers across the United States. NBCH and its members are dedicated to value-based purchasing of health care services through the collective action of public and private purchasers. In developing, identifying and disseminating best practices in value based purchasing strategies, NBCH seeks to accelerate the nation's progress towards safe, efficient, high quality health care. For more information, call 202-775-9300 or visit http://www.nbch.org/.

National Business Coalition on Health

CONTACT: Cary Conway, +1-972-731-9242, +1-214-793-5705 orcary@conwaycommunication.com, for the National Business Coalition on Health

Web site: http://www.nbch.org/http://www.evalue8.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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