Blue Distinction Specialty Care program launches Substance Use Treatment and Recovery designation

The Blue Distinction^® Specialty Care program has added a new Blue Distinction^® Center designation for Substance Use Treatment and Recovery, effective January 2020.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is currently in the process of sending letters to select substance use treatment and recovery facilities in Michigan to determine their interest in being part of this designation program. To be considered, you’ll need to complete and return the Substance Use Program Questionnaire that will be included with the letter.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 130 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose, a statistic that highlights the seriousness of the opioid epidemic and how crucial it is for patients to receive comprehensive care. The BDC Substance Use Treatment and Recovery program requires designated facilities to deliver coordinated multidisciplinary care to patients and provide timely access to quality medical and psychosocial care in all phases of treatment. Designated facilities must also offer medication-assisted treatment — a way to treat opioid addiction that includes a medication component and behavioral therapy.

Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated facilities that show a commitment to delivering improved patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed with input from the community and leading accreditation and quality organizations. In addition to this new designation, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program is helping people find quality specialty care in the areas of bariatric surgery, cancer care, cardiac care, cellular immunotherapy, fertility care, gene therapy, knee and hip replacements, maternity care, spine surgery and transplants.

For more information about Blue Distinction Specialty Care and for a complete listing of designated facilities in 11 areas of specialty care, visit bcbsm.com/bluedistinction.

For information on a new MAT-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan program, see the column from Dr. Amy McKenzie, also in this issue.

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Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.