Implementation of cancer clinical care pathways: a successful model of collaboration between payers and providers.

Despite rising medical costs within the US health care system, quality and outcomes are not improving. Without significant policy reform, the cost-quality imbalance will reach unsustainable proportions in the foreseeable future. The rising cost of health care in part results from an expanding aging population with an increasing number of life-threatening diseases.

Implementation of cancer clinical care pathways: a successful model of collaboration between payers and providers.

Despite rising medical costs within the US healthcare system, quality and outcomes are not improving. Without significant policy reform, the cost-quality imbalance will reach unsustainable proportions in the foreseeable future. The rising cost of healthcare in part results from an expanding aging population with an increasing number of life-threatening diseases.

Michigan oncology practices showed varying adherence rates to practice guidelines, but quality interventions improved care.

Despite improvements in care for patients with cancer, and in their survival rates, it is not clear that best practices are uniformly delivered to patients. We measured the quality of outpatient cancer care, using validated quality measures, in a consortium of thirty-six outpatient oncology practices in Michigan. We discovered that throughout the measurement period, for breast and colorectal cancer care, there was a more than 85 percent rate of adherence to quality care processes.

Partnering with payers for success: quality oncology practice initiative, blue cross blue shield of michigan, and the michigan oncology quality consortium.

More than 16% of the total sites participating nationally in the QOPI survey are in Michigan. A significant component of the growth in QOPI participation in Michigan can be attributed to the involvement and quality improvement efforts of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.