CQIs are highlighted at largest value-based health care event in the world

Collaborative Quality Initiatives led by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan working with Michigan hospitals have transformed care, made unexpected discoveries, resulted in improved quality of care and saved billions of dollars. The groundbreaking work continues to draw international attention.

Tom Leyden, director, Value Partnerships and Dr. Michael Englesbe, director of Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative at Michigan Medicine, presented on the Collaborative Quality Initiatives program at the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurements conference in Barcelona, Spain last October. The ICHOM Conference is the largest value-based health care event in the world.

Leyden explained how Blue Cross’ CQI program was developed to address the rapidly evolving health care system and its uncontrolled quality and cost concerns.

He outlined some of the program’s successes:

• The Michigan Anticoagulation CQI helped more than 33,000 patients avoid a blood clot. As a result of the initiative, national guidelines were changed.
• The Cardiovascular Consortium, or BMC2, led to an 80% decrease in blood transfusions, reducing death and kidney injury after transcatheter valve procedures.
• The Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative resulted in a 60% decrease in the post-surgical death rate. It led to an unexpected discovery that IVC filter placement was causing complications and death. Today IVC placement in bariatric surgery is down to 1% nationally and 0% in Michigan.
• The Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative led to a 20% reduction in surgical site infections for all procedures tracked.

Blue Cross’ CQI program is the first of its kind, and an internationally recognized model that improves health care quality and value. There are 22 statewide consortiums that include more than 100 hospitals and more than 10,000 unique physicians.

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