[November 13, 2012]

BridgeHealth Issues Position Document: "Quality, Early Detection, Education: Improving Upon Nation's Largest Retailer's Ground-Breaking Centers of Excellence Program"

BridgeHealth Medical, Inc.,  (BHM) provider of SurgeryPath^SM , a proactive program designed to help self-insured companies manage and control their surgery costs,  announced the release of its Position Paper: "Quality, Early Detection, Education: Improving Upon Nation's Largest Retailer's Ground-Breaking Centers of Excellence Program." Authored by BHM leadership Terry White, president, and Andrew Dombro, M.D., chief medical officer, the paper commends the nation's largest retailer for launching a Centers of Excellence (COE) program, which gives health plan members access to heart, spine and transplant surgeries at six high quality hospitals at no cost.

The Position Paper offers guidance to companies looking to provide similar managed surgical benefits programs for their members and is available for download at: http://www.bridgehealthmedical.com/201211/white-paper-quality-early-detection-education  

"Contracting with hospitals known for high quality has shown promising results in avoiding unnecessary surgeries, which is meaningful, given that large and small employers alike face the same burdensome costs of surgery," says White. "A growing number of employer organizations are beginning to focus on educating members about surgery implications and alternatives to achieve quality, cost-effective care."

The document urges health benefit managers to partner with an established program that offers a broad network of hospitals. In addition, the facilitator should offer capabilities in these key areas:

·       Quality -- contracts exclusively with healthcare organizations that consistently rank in the top quartile for quality on a given procedure

·      Member engagement -- provides resources and decision support tools to guide patients through key healthcare decisions, combining medical information with personal values

·      Predictive tools -- allow employers to identify plan members who are on the path to major surgery, and make them aware of plan incentives for making better choices

Dr. Dombro adds, "It's important for employers to look for a surgical benefits program facilitator that evaluates medical quality based on process of care, outcomes of care and patient experiences. In this way, patients will have access to facilities performing at a high quantity for a given procedure while producing measurably superior clinical results at reasonable rates. Ultimately, better outcomes lead to faster recovery and reduced time away from work."

About BridgeHealth Medical, Inc.

BridgeHealth Medical is a pioneer in surgery benefit management, serving health plans, insurance carriers, employers, third-party administrators, and individuals by providing patient education and facilitating access to high quality surgical care at lower prices. BridgeHealth offers: SurgeryPath^SM , a proactive program designed to help self-insured companies manage and control their surgery costs; and High Performance Network^SM, which includes high quality providers offering pre-negotiated case pricing on major planned surgeries. Through its revolutionary Early Indicators data analytics program, BridgeHealth helps identify individuals who are on the path to major surgery and who will benefit from BridgeHealth's program. Visit BridgeHealth Medical.com.

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