August 9, 2013 BCBSIL Recognizes Hospitals for Quality in Cardiac Care as Part of Blue Distinction® Program As part of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois’ (BCBSIL) Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care® program, certain facilities in Illinois are now recognized for delivering quality cardiac care that is also cost-efficient. Blue Distinction Centers® (BDCs) is a designation given by BCBSIL to health care facilities (typically hospitals) that have demonstrated expertise in delivering quality health care in the areas of bariatric surgery, cardiac care, complex and rare cancers, knee and hip replacement, spine surgery or transplants. Noteworthy facilities may be designated as Blue Distinction Centers+ SM (BDCs+) for delivering quality care while also meeting key requirements for cost-efficiency. The goal of Blue Distinction is to help consumers find consistent specialty care, while enabling and encouraging health care professionals to improve the overall quality and cost of care nationwide. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, claiming nearly 600,000 lives each year. Cardiac procedures are among the most common major medical procedures provided, with more than 1 million performed annually. They cost the nation more than $28 billion annually. Research shows that BDCs and BDCs+ demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients, with lower rates of complications following certain cardiac procedures, and lower rates of health care-associated infections compared with their peers. BDCs+ are also 20 percent more cost-efficient than non-designated hospitals for those same cardiac procedures. BDC for Cardiac Care facilities deliver better overall quality outcomes with fewer readmissions: |