Hospital Recognized for Quality Obstetrics Care
PITTSBURGH (Sept. 5, 2012) – After analyzing health care claims data for the past three years, Blue Health Intelligence recently recognized The Washington Hospital, located in Washington County, as one of the best hospitals in the country for its obstetrical care. During this time, The Washington Hospital has been working closely with Highmark Inc. and actively participating in Quality Blue, Highmark’s hospital pay-for-performance program.
“WashingtonHospitalis taking excellent care of Highmark members and represents a tremendous value for members,” said Carey Vinson, M.D., Vice President and Medical Director of Quality and Medical Performance Management at Highmark. “The data clearly shows they have low complication rates and high-quality safety results in obstetric care. They have a model program that others can learn from.”
Officials from The Washington Hospital explain that its team of healthcare providers, physicians and hospital staff has been a driving force in emphasizing quality resulting in improved obstetric care. “Key steps in evidence based practice, infection prevention, and staff education have resulted in achieving even greater quality measures in obstetric care,” explained Paul T. Cullen, M.D., Vice President, Medical Affairs at The Washington Hospital.
Dr. Vinson also explained that Highmark is in a unique position because of its vast resources of hospital data that it collects in an effort to help facilities. “Working with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and other hospital partners we want to regularly highlight successful programs and try to communicate this information with others, so best practices can be shared. This ultimately benefits all the stakeholders,” said Vinson.
In addition to obstetric care, the hospital is also capitalizing on excellent electronic capabilities. Integrated electronic medical records and computer systems are utilized in the hospital, outpatient locations, and physician offices. This provides team members throughout the system with access to patient information promoting communication between providers and enables proactive scheduling of diagnostic tests and procedures.
Telemedicine communication access and capabilities are utilized as needed in the Emergency Department for stroke and pediatric patients; this technology is also available to the Critical Care Unit for evaluation of stroke patients.
About Highmark Inc.
Highmark Inc., based in Pittsburgh, is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans. Highmark serves 4.9 million members in Pennsylvania and West Virginia through the company's health care benefits business and is one of the largest Blue plans in the nation. Highmark has 20,000 employees across the country. For more than 70 years, Highmark's commitment to the community has consistently been among the company’s highest priorities as it strives to positively impact the communities where we do business. For more information, visit www.highmark.com.
About Blue Health Intelligence®
Blue Health Intelligence (BHI®) is the nation’s premiere health intelligence resource, delivering data-driven insights about healthcare trends and best practices, resulting in healthier lives and more affordable access to safe and effective care. BHI accesses healthcare claims data from more than 110 million individuals nationwide, collected over seven years, in a safe, HIPAA compliant and secure database. The resulting conformed, reliable data set has the broadest, deepest pool of integrated medical and pharmacy claims, reflecting medical utilization in every ZIP code. Blue Health Intelligence (BHI) is a trade name of Health Intelligence Company, LLC. BHI is an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information, visit http://www.bluehealthintelligence.com/.