Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas announces that four facilities in our service area are designated as Blue Distinction® Centers for Substance Use Treatment and Recovery (BDC Substance Use Treatment and Recovery) – a new designation under the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.
Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated facilities that show a commitment to delivering improved patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed with input from the community and leading accreditation and quality organizations.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 130 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose, which highlights the seriousness of the opioid epidemic and how critical it is for patients to receive comprehensive, meaningful care. The BDC Substance Use Treatment and Recovery program requires designated facilities to deliver coordinated multidisciplinary care to patients and provide timely access to quality medical and psychosocial care in all phases of treatment. Designated facilities must also offer medication-assisted treatment (MAT) – a way to treat opioid addiction that includes a medication component and behavioral therapy.
Treatment and recovery facilities will be designated on a rolling basis. To date, the following facilities have received a BDC Substance Use Treatment and Recovery designation:
•Atchison Valley Hope
•Norton Valley Hope
•Moundridge Valley Hope
•Central KS Foundation
"We are proud to be associated with these four top-notch facilities," said Matt All, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. "By helping Kansans recover from addiction, they are giving new hope to families and communities across our state."
“The Blue Distinction Specialty Care program seeks to help patients find quality care and encourage health professionals to improve the overall delivery of care nationwide,” said Jennifer Atkins, vice president, Network Solutions for Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. “By designating proven, patient-centered treatment facilities as Blue Distinction, we’re improving a patient’s path to recovery.”
Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality specialty care in the areas of bariatric surgery, cancer care, cardiac care, cellular immunotherapy, fertility care, gene therapy, knee and hip replacements, maternity care, spine surgery, substance use treatment and recovery, and transplants, while encouraging health care professionals to improve the care they deliver.
For more information about the program and for a complete listing of the designated facilities, visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas
For more than 75 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas has built a reputation of trust with its members and contracting providers by providing outstanding customer service while quickly and accurately processing claims; fairly administering benefit plans and contracts; offering programs, services and tools to help members improve or maintain their health; and operating under the highest ethical standards while being good stewards of premium dollars. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and is the state’s largest insurer, serving all Kansas counties except Johnson and Wyandotte. For more information, visit bcbsks.com.