Blue Cross Blue Shield Recognizes Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute for Quality in Value-Based Cancer Care

FORT MYERS, Fla., May 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS) has been recognized by Blue Cross Blue Shield as a Blue Distinction® Center for Cancer Care. FCS is the only community hematology and oncology practice in the state of Florida to be awarded this recognition.

By combining nationally consistent quality criteria with locally effective value-based programs, the Blue Distinction Centers for Cancer Care deliver maximum value to members battling cancer by aligning healthcare payments with improved health outcomes. The designation is available for all cancer types and various care settings, including physician groups, cancer centers, hospitals and accountable care organizations (ACOs).

Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute received the designation by incorporating patient-centered and data-driven practices to better coordinate cancer care and improve quality and safety, under a value-based payment model. Blue Distinction Centers for Cancer Care are reimbursed based on how they perform against both quality and cost outcome targets in order to receive incentives and rewards for better health outcomes – rather than traditional fee-for-service. Care delivery transformation to improve quality and affordability is most successful when accompanied by transformation to a value-based payment model.

FCS CEO, Brad Prechtl, MBA, stated, "Florida Cancer Specialists is honored to be awarded the Blue Card Distinction from Blue Cross Blue Shield. As a national designation, the program acknowledges FCS in a "preferred" status on the provider directory and endorses FCS as a high-quality, value-based provider."

FCS Founder & President, Dr. Bill Harwin, said, "FCS is the only community oncology provider in Florida with this designation. After more than thirty years of practice in the state, Florida Cancer Specialists is honored to be nationally recognized for our world-class medicine and hometown care."

FCS Chief Revenue Cycle Officer, Sarah Cevallos, added, "We have been a long-term partner Florida Blue to ensure their members and our patients experience the highest quality cancer care.  We are very appreciative to be recognized as a Blue Distinction Center for Cancer Care. Our daily effort emphasizes our joint commitment to the evolution from volume-based to high-quality value-based care.  This is truly a team effort of the entire company."

"Cancer patients are unique, and so is the care that they receive," said Jennifer Atkins, Vice President of Network Solutions for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.  "Cancer patients often receive different kinds of specialized care in multiple settings with perhaps surgery at a distant medical center but chemotherapy at a local hospital. Medical professionals and facilities designated as Blue Distinction Centers for Cancer Care provide coordinated patient care and communication under a value-based payment model."

Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality specialty care in the areas of bariatric surgery, cancer care, cardiac care, knee and hip replacements, maternity care, spine surgery and transplants while encouraging healthcare professionals to improve the care they deliver.

For more information about the program and for a complete list of designated doctors and medical facilities, please visit bcbs.com/bluedistinction.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for one in three Americans. BCBSA provides health care insights through The Health of America Report series and the national BCBS Health Index^sm. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit bcbs.com. We also encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out our blog.

About Blue Distinction Centers
Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures for patient safety and outcomes, developed with input from the medical community. A local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for providers located in its own service area; for details, contact your local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers' need for affordable healthcare. Each provider's cost of care is evaluated using data from its local Blue Plan. Providers in CA, ID, NY, PA, and WA may lie in two local Blue Plans' areas, resulting in two evaluations for the cost of care; and their own local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluation(s) must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider's in-network status or your own policy's coverage, contact your local Blue Plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for non-covered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers.

About Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute: (FLCancer.com) Founded in 1984, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS) is the largest independent medical oncology/hematology practice in the United States. With more than 220 physicians, 180 nurse practitioners and physician assistants and nearly 100 locations in our network, we are committed to providing world-class cancer care in community-based settings close to home.

Recognized by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) with a national Clinical Trials Participation Award, FCS offers patients access to more clinical trials than any private oncology practice in Florida. In the past 3 years, the majority of new cancer drugs approved for use in the U.S. were studied in clinical trials with Florida Cancer Specialists participation.* Our physicians are consistently ranked nationally as Top Doctors by U.S. News & World Report. Trained in such prestigious medical schools and research institutes as Duke, Stanford, Harvard, Emory, M.D. Anderson, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering, the physicians of Florida Cancer Specialists provide leadership and consultation in the state's leading hospitals.

FCS serves patients on the Gulf Coast from Naples to the greater Tampa Bay area, north as far as Tallahassee, in Orlando and surrounding Central Florida communities, and on the East Coast from Palm Beach County to the Jacksonville area.

Florida Cancer Specialists has built a national reputation for excellence that is reflected in exceptional and compassionate patient care, driven by innovative clinical research and cutting-edge technologies that help advance targeted treatments and genetically-based immunotherapies, and embodied by our outstanding team of highly-trained and dedicated physicians, clinicians and staff.

* Prior to approval

For More Information, Contact:

Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute
Shelly Glenn, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer - [email protected]
770.365.6168

ChappellRoberts
Chris Wilkerson - [email protected]
813.334.6690

Ganick Communications, Inc.
Elaine Ganick - [email protected]
615.377.7877

SOURCE Florida Cancer Specialists