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Cancer center designated as Blue Distinction Center in bone marrow transplant
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BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York recently redesignated Roswell Park Cancer Institute as a Blue Distinction Center for delivering quality transplant care as part of the Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care program. Approximately 100 Blue Distinction Centers for Transplants have been designated in the United States, with only four located in New York State.
Blue Distinction Centers are medical facilities shown to deliver quality specialty care based on objective, transparent measures for patient safety and health outcomes that were developed with input from the medical community. To receive a Blue Distinction Centers for Transplants designation, medical facilities must demonstrate success in meeting patient safety criteria as well as transplant-specific quality measures, including survival metrics. Roswell Park received the same Blue Distinction Center designation in 2011.
Philip McCarthy
“Because blood and marrow transplant is such a highly complex procedure, a patient’s medical needs before, during and after a transplant procedure are extensive and labor-intensive,” Philip McCarthy, MD, from the adult blood and marrow transplant program at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, said in a press release. “Given that context, we’re especially proud to once again earn Blue Distinction for our transplant program from BlueCross BlueShield.”
Prior studies show that Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients with higher survival rates compared with their peers.
“We are pleased that [Roswell Park] has been recognized for their quality transplant care,” Thomas Schenk, MD, senior vice president and chief medical officer, BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York, said in the release. “As part of the BlueCross BlueShield network they are a valued and once again nationally recognized provider of quality care.”
The Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care program identifies medical facilities delivering quality care in bariatric surgery, cardiac care, complex and rare cancers, knee and hip replacements, spine surgery and transplants. These specialty areas comprise approximately 30% of inpatient expenditures.
For more information about the program and for a complete listing of the designated facilities, visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.