URAC Announces Award Finalists for Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection

Award-winning programs will be featured at URAC's 11th Annual Quality Summit, October 5-7, 2010

WASHINGTON, July 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- URAC announced today that a distinguished panel of judges has selected 30 finalists for its Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection Awards. The competition drew entries from across the nation. The finalists will be honored during URAC's 11th Annual Quality Summit, October 5-7, 2010 in Chicago, IL. The awards honor programs in two areas: Consumer Decision-Making and Consumer Health Improvement.

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"The Best Practices Awards provide a unique opportunity for leaders in health care to focus attention on companies who are delivering on the mission to advance consumer protection and empowerment," said Alan P. Spielman, President and CEO of URAC. "By sharing these programs, we can raise awareness of innovative programs that can be replicated across the health care industry."

Award entries detailed innovative and proven programs from health care provider practices, health information/decision support, health management, pharmacy management and workers' compensation companies as well as health plans and health networks. More than thirty of the nation's foremost thought leaders in health care judged the entries based on criteria established by URAC, the nation's leading health accreditation organization.

Finalists in the Best Practices Awards competition are:

• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, "A Systematic Approach to Improving Diabetes Care"
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, "Educating Physicians About Patient Safety"
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, "Patient Centered Medical Home"
• BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, "End of Life Planning"
• Capital BlueCross, "Medication Reconciliation Referral Program"
• Care Management Technologies, Oklahoma Health Care Authority and Lilly, USA, "Oklahoma Medical Risk Management Program"
• CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, "Engaging the At-Risk Population"
• CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, "Virtual Intensive Care Unit"
• Centene Corporation, "Start Smart for Your Baby™"
• CIGNA Corporation, "Engagement in Intensive Case Management Program"
• Coventry Workers' Compensation Services, "Code Red Alert: Large Scale Catastrophic Response"
• Employers Occupational Health, Inc. and informedRx^®, "Controlled Drug Over - Utilization Program"
• Genesee Health Plan and Genesys Health System, "Health Navigator Self Management Support System"
• Health Alliance Plan and Henry Ford Health System, "Medication Therapy Management Program"
• HealthCare USA, "Baby Bears Club NICU Disease Management Program"
• HealthCare USA, "Beary Important Breath Program"
• HealthCare USA, "Beary Important Bundle Program"
• Informed Medical Decisions, Inc., "High Tech, High Touch Genetics - A Model Program"
• Kaiser Permanente Northern California, "Evidence Based Sepsis Care - Mortality Reduction"
• Kaiser Permanente Northern California, "Reduction of High Risk Medication Errors"
• Keystone Mercy Health Plan and YMCA, "Lose To Win Type II Diabetes/Obesity Program"
• McKesson Health Solutions, "Personal Health Advisor"
• Prescription Solutions, "Multiple Sclerosis Disease Therapy Management"
• ProgenyHealth, Inc., "Case Management of NICU Infants"
• PsycHealth, Ltd., "Medical Follow-up After Mental Health Admission"
• US Family Health Plan at Pacific Medical Centers, "Pharmacy Patient Safety Program"
• WellPoint, Inc., "Progesterone for Preterm Birth Prevention (17-P)"
• WellPoint, Inc., "Social Work Care Management Program"
• WellPoint, Inc. and Commonwealth of Virginia, "Benefits Based Incentives and Maternity Outcomes"
• Wenatchee Valley Medical Center and Robert Bosch Healthcare, Inc., "Health Buddy Program"

Finalists are invited to present their winning programs at URAC's 11th Annual Quality Summit. During a special event at the conference, Gold, Silver and Bronze awards, as well as Honorable Mention awards will be presented in six organization categories. In addition, Platinum award winners will be announced in the two topic categories.

For complete conference details and to register for URAC's 11th Annual Quality Summit, October 5-7, 2010 in Chicago, IL, go to http://www.urac.org/accreditationEducation/11thAnnualSummit.asp. To see a complete list of judges, go to http://www.urac.org/accreditationEducation/11thSummitjudges.asp.

About URAC

URAC, an independent, nonprofit organization, is well-known as a leader in promoting health care quality through its accreditation, education and measurement programs. URAC offers a wide range of quality benchmarking programs and services that keep pace with the rapid changes in the health care system, and provide a symbol of excellence for organizations to validate their commitment to quality and accountability. Through its broad-based governance structure and an inclusive standards development process, URAC ensures that all stakeholders are represented in establishing meaningful quality measures for the entire health care industry. For more information, visit www.urac.org.

SOURCE URAC