Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois

 

October 25, 2013

BCBSIL “PREP” Initiative Receives a Top Honor from URAC
Preventing Readmissions Through Effective Partnerships Named One of 2013 Best Practices

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) received the Bronze award in the Health Plan category from the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC), a leading health care accreditation and education organization, for its Preventing Readmissions through Effective Partnerships (PREP). URAC honors organizations that are actively pursuing practices to advance consumer engagement and protection in an exceptional, measurable and reproducible way.

Opella Ernest, M.D., BCBSIL’s Chief Medical Officer stated, "The PREP program is part of our continuing commitment to work with health care providers to improve the quality of care while lowering health care costs.”

BCBSIL and the Illinois Hospital Association created the PREP program together. Working with nationally recognized experts, PREP is helping Illinois hospitals significantly reduce the rate of patient readmissions by 2014. The initiative focuses on five key areas:

  • Redesigning hospital discharge processes
  • Improving transitions of care
  • Developing and improving palliative care programs
  • Reducing readmissions from infections
  • Measuring reductions in readmissions using standardized metrics

 


.

A Division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company,
an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.