Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan launches statewide quality initiative to improve anesthesiology processes, reduce complications and improve outcomes

DETROIT, Oct. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network have launched a collaboration among hospitals across the state to improve anesthesiology practices, reduce anesthesiology-related complications and improve patient outcomes. The University of Michigan Health System will serve as the coordinating center for this new anesthesia-focused Collaborative Quality Initiative (CQI).

This is the 15^th hospital-based effort in the Michigan Blues' CQI program, a collection of initiatives using data and collaboration to improve common and costly areas of medical and surgical care.  Anesthesiologists, with their surgeon partners, will analyze variation in anesthesiology processes and techniques and develop best practices to prevent and reduce complications.

Participants will review a wide range of data to analyze and develop best practices, following the already successful CQI model. Areas of focus will include:

• Exploring the best type of anesthesia for specific surgical procedures
• Benefits and usage of general, regional and local anesthesiology
• Safety measures regarding ways to bring a patient in and out of consciousness
• Effective ways to monitor a patient during a procedure
• Patient preparation for different surgical procedures, to improve their own safety

"We're going to look at every anesthesiology care process to develop safer systems and recommended guidelines for anesthesiology care," said Sachin Kheterpal, MD, MBA, project director for this initiative and associate chair for Clinical Affairs and Quality in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan Health System. "This is a multi-site collaboration, so we'll have data from procedures at many different hospitals across the state.  This gives us real-world data so we can more accurately find patterns and make recommendations."

"The anesthesiology CQI is one more addition to a suite of partnership efforts among the Michigan Blues and hospitals and health professionals across the state that are reducing complications, improving quality and safety for patients, and saving limited health care resources," said David Share, MD, senior vice president, Value Partnerships, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. "Our recent reporting of five CQIs saving $597 million in health costs over a five year period demonstrates the potential impact creating these kinds of benchmarks can have on best practices and patient outcomes."

Across Michigan, 75 large and medium size acute care hospitals participate in at least one CQI, and collectively, the CQIs analyze the care given to over 200,000 Michigan patients annually.

In addition to the anesthesiology CQI, there are 14 other hospital-based CQIs focusing on bariatric surgery, general surgery, angioplasty, vascular disease, cardiothoracic surgery, hospital medicine safety, blood clot management, breast cancer, trauma center quality, operating room safety, hip and knee replacement, spine surgery, surgical episodes of care and radiation treatment for cancer.

For more information on Collaborative Quality Initiatives, please visit valuepartnerships.com and MiBluesPerspectives.com

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit mutual insurance company, is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more company information, visit bcbsm.com and MiBluesPerspectives.com.

SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan