EAGAN, Minn., Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is being presented with two first place awards today at the 2004 Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association’s Best of Blue National Awards Program in Medical and Pharmacy Management. The Minnesota plan is being recognized for its work in tobacco prevention and antibiotic resistance.
The annual Best of Blue awards recognize only truly exemplary programs that demonstrate innovative approaches and credible results that improve member services. This year, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association had 104 submissions. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota garnered two of the eight first place awards.
One of the first-place awards was for Blue Cross’ Smoking Cessation Referrals in Pharmacies (SCRIPS) program, which won first prize in the Innovations in Quality Improvement category. SCRIPS is a partnership with Prime Therapeutics, a Minnesota-based pharmacy benefit manager, that effectively connects members who smoke with helpful medications and quit- smoking behavioral counseling services. SCRIPS accounts for more than 20 percent of referrals to the BluePrint for Health(R) stop-smoking program.
Another first place award was given for the Minnesota plan’s efforts with the Minnesota Antibiotic Resistance Collaborative (MARC) in the Innovations in Quality Improvement Partnerships category. MARC is a coordinated educational effort to inform providers and consumers about the significant health problems and costs of antibiotic resistance bacteria. This collaborative effort has put multiple programs in place throughout Minnesota to address the problem of infections caused by bacteria resistant to treatment. The efforts have been successful, decreasing the risk of serious infections with resistant bacteria and generating significant cost savings.
“Receiving Best of Blue honors demonstrates all the great work employees have been doing throughout the year,” said Mark Banks, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. “These awards bring well-deserved recognition to the best programs around the country, and to be included in this group is a real honor.”
Other awards given to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota include the following -- Special Jurors’ Award: The SCRIPS program also won one of two special awards for methodological design. The Special Jurors’ Award is presented by recommendation of the jurists upon review of all 104 applications received. The award recognizes exemplary programs demonstrating credible results when improving services for customers.
Honorable Mention/Improving Care through Collaboration and Performance: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota played a major role in transforming the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI) and creating an outstanding complimentary partnership called the Community Measurement project. Because of Blue Cross’ leadership and financial support, health plans, hospitals and providers across Minnesota are now beginning their third year of measuring an agreed-upon set of eight diabetes care standards for their populations.
Honorable Mention/Improving Patient Safety Through Appropriate Prescribing: Significant unexpected adverse effects of a drug are sometimes first discovered only after it is being widely used in practice. The Minnesota Blue plan, in conjunction with Prime Therapeutics, has developed a system to warn physicians of the potential for such events. The system uses integrated medical and pharmacy data to find at risk patients and provides notification to the physician. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota was recognized for its work in targeting the drug Vioxx. This system resulted in fewer patients receiving the drug in a potentially unsafe manner.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, with headquarters in the St. Paul suburb of Eagan, was chartered in 1933 as Minnesota’s first health plan and continues to carry out its charter mission today: to promote a wider, more economical and timely availability of health services for the people of Minnesota. A not-for-profit, taxable organization, Blue Cross is the largest health plan based in Minnesota, covering 2.6 million members in Minnesota and nationally through its health plans or plans administered by its affiliated companies. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, headquartered in Chicago.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota
CONTACT: Janice Hennings, APR for Blue Cross and Blue Shield ofMinnesota, +1-651-662-6139, or pager, +1-612-648-2517