Hospital and Physician Update

January – February 2017

CQIs play vital role in U-M effort to fight opioid epidemic
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has partnered with the University of Michigan to combat the opioid epidemic. Read more.

A message from Dr. S. George Kipa
What can we do to shape healthier communities?

Ever since the problem of lead contamination in Flint’s drinking water became widely publicized in 2015, communities across the country have been taking a closer look at the problem of lead poisoning — and Detroit is no exception.“Getting the Lead Out: Detroit Perspectives” offered an overview of what progress has been made — and what remains to be done — to reduce the threat of lead poisoning in Detroit. Read more.
Dr. S. George Kipa

Guest column from Elissa H. Patterson, Ph.D.
Health psychologist, University of Michigan Health System
Behavioral therapy helps patients comply with treatment regimens

Which patients keep you up at night? For many, it’s the patients who don’t follow your recommendations. You tell them about the necessary treatments, but you can’t go home with them to ensure that they comply. When their health of deteriorates due to lack of compliance, it can be frustrating, costly and sometimes heartbreaking. Read more.

Elissa Patterson

Elissa Patterson

Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Safety Score^®: 29 Michigan hospitals earn A’s
When it comes to being the safest in the state, 29 Michigan hospitals earned the top grade — an A — in the Leapfrog Group’s Fall 2016 Hospital Safety Score. That’s a big increase from fall 2015, when 19 hospitals were given an A. Read more.

In the news: behavioral health
The ethics of using ‘frequent flyers’ icons
Does labeling patients “frequent flyers” create a stigma? In an opinion piece from JAMA, titled “The Ethics of Behavioral Health Information Technology: Frequent Flyer Icons and Implicit Bias,”* the authors write that it “is ethically and clinically inappropriate.”
Read more.

In brief
Learn about our Blue Cross^® Personal Choice PPO and find out how you can subscribe to the email version of this newsletter. Read more.

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