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UNITEDHEALTH GROUP TO SUPPORT NATIONAL
PROGRAM REWARDING PHYSICIANS WHO PROVIDE CARE CONSISTENT
WITH EVIDENCE-BASED BEST PRACTICES
· UnitedHealth
Group to promote Bridges to Excellence™, an employer-sponsored
coalition pioneering an innovative program that recognizes
and rewards quality physician-delivered medical care
· Over 20 major employers already considering
this employer-paid program that promotes and rewards
outstanding medical care
MINNEAPOLIS - UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH)
today announced it has entered into an agreement with
Bridges to Excellence™ to implement its program
that recognizes and rewards quality physician care.
Bridges to Excellence is an initiative led by an employer
coalition of eight large national companies. The model
uses the National Committee for Quality Assurance's
(NCQA) widely accepted evidence-based measures of quality
and its associated administrative services to evaluate
the consistency of clinical care against best practice
standards.
This agreement, the first of its kind between Bridges
to Excellence and a health care company, will augment
UnitedHealth Group's leading portfolio of initiatives
that focus on improving health care outcomes. UnitedHealth
Group will encourage and support physicians to apply
for recognition by NCQA, and as a result, become eligible
for financial rewards that accompany that recognition.
As part of the initiative, all UnitedHealth Group enrollees
will have convenient access to the names of the physicians
who have achieved recognition for the quality of care
that they provide in the specific areas addressed.
"Several organizations have recently put toes
in the water regarding evaluating medical care at the
physician level," said NCQA President Margaret
E. O'Kane. "UnitedHealth Group has taken a big
leap, and as a result, those they serve should see some
real benefits. We know from our experience working with
physicians that promoting evidence-based care results
in better outcomes. It's a simple model and we know
that it works."
Currently, the Bridges to Excellence program uses the
NCQA recognition process to evaluate and reward physician's
clinical actions in three areas of particular importance
to Americans and their employers: high quality cardiovascular
care; high quality diabetes care; and the reduction
of medical errors. The NCQA develops its widely accepted
evidence-based standards by working with nationally
recognized partners such as the American Diabetes Association
(ADA) and the American Heart Association/American Stroke
Association (AHA/ASA), as well as with physician experts.
"We are excited by this expansion of our collaboration
with customers and physicians to enhance health care
outcomes," said Vince Kerr, M.D., president of
Care Solutions at UnitedHealth Group. "Good physicians
deserve to be recognized for their efforts and patients
deserve to know the physicians who are providing care
consistent with the best scientific evidence. Bridges
to Excellence, combined with the UnitedHealth Premium
program, enhances our ability to ensure that we can
help organize health services that result in the right
care for the right person at the right time."
An important component of the Bridges to Excellence
program is the financial rewards that accompany recognition
of quality. Participating employers contribute to a
pool that is subsequently made available to eligible
physicians meeting the NCQA recognition criteria.
"It is our belief that the improved quality of
care that results from performance measurement and feedback
to physicians, as well as more informed decisions by
consumers, will ultimately result in cost savings for
the purchasers of care," said Dale Whitney, Corporate
Health Care Manager at UPS and a leader of the Bridges
to Excellence effort.
"UnitedHealth Group has been supporting physicians
with evidence-based data sharing and performance feedback
for years, and the Bridges to Excellence model is a
natural fit for the company and the constituencies it
serves," said Dr. Kerr. "This agreement enables
UnitedHealth Group to continue to advance meaningful
initiatives in this important field."
About UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group (www.unitedhealthgroup.com)
is a diversified Fortune 100 company headquartered in
Minneapolis, Minn., that provides a broad spectrum of
resources and services to help people achieve improved
health and well being through all stages of life. UnitedHealth
Group offers products and services through six operating
businesses: UnitedHealthcare, Ovations, AmeriChoice,
Uniprise, Specialized Care Services and Ingenix. Through
its family of businesses, UnitedHealth Group serves
more than 55 million individuals nationwide.
About Bridges to Excellence
The Bridges to Excellence coalition is a not-for-profit
organization created to encourage diverse significant
leaps in the quality of care by recognizing and rewarding
health care providers who demonstrate that they deliver
safe, timely, effective, efficient and patient-centered
care. Bridges to Excellence participants include large
employers, health plans, the National Committee for
Quality Assurance, MEDSTAT and WebMD Health, among others.
The organizations are united in their shared goal of
improving health care quality through measurement, reporting,
rewards and education.
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