Helping drive better outcomes. For the Health of America.
Finding the best treatment for COVID-19
With tens of thousands of cases reported, Michigan was one of the early hot spots for COVID-19 infections. Government officials and healthcare leadership across the state and country continue to seek solutions to combat the immediate impacts of COVID-19 and lay a foundation for recovery with best practices in treatment.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBS Michigan) is supporting these efforts by collaborating with more than 35 Michigan hospitals to collect and analyze data on COVID-19 patients. This data collection and research will create one of the most extensive clinical registries to date, providing new insights into best practices in caring for and treating patients with the virus.
How it works
This registry will create one of the largest comprehensive data sources on COVID-19, pulling together meaningful data around treatment and outcomes of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The results of this initiative will supply participating hospitals and medical teams with insights on factors and patient characteristics associated with more severe cases or worse outcomes. Most importantly it will provide an opportunity to identify potential treatment regimens and programs that drive better outcomes for those infected with coronavirus.
“What we learn from this work will not only help now with currently hospitalized patients, but in the future should we experience another wave of COVID-19 patients,” said Scott Flanders, M.D., program director of HMS, chief clinical strategy officer at Michigan Medicine, and professor of internal medicine and hospital medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School.
Building on a foundation of success
This work is made possible by leveraging existing framework and infrastructure in place through one of BCBS Michigan's ten Value Partnership programs, the Collaborative Quality Initiative (CQI.) These programs utilize a value-based payment model that aligns incentives, fosters a collaborative environment, provides resources for data collection and enables physician leadership focused on high quality, affordable care.
In recent years, BCBS Michigan's collaboration with local providers through the CQI program has decreased complications and improved patient outcomes in areas ranging from emergency medicine to knee and hip replacements. This framework enabled BCBS Michigan to quickly collaborate with hospitals across the state, providing them with valuable information to aid the fight against coronavirus.
“We’re fortunate in Michigan to have a mechanism in place that enables fast collaboration among providers to address critical health challenges such as the COVID-19 crisis,” said Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan President and CEO, Daniel J. Loepp.
Read more about how BCBS Michigan is helping members during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, an association of independent, locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies.