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Upstate University Hospital is awarded quality improvements payments

Upstate University Hospital is awarded quality improvements payments

SYRACUSE, N.Y.-- Upstate University Hospital is among 41 upstate New York hospitals and health centers to have earned $22.4 million in quality improvement payments last year from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield as part of the health insurer’s performance incentive program. Since 2005, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s program has paid out more than $210 million.

The quality improvement program is a collaboration between the health insurer and each participating hospital. It uses nationally recognized standards and guidelines to address specific areas for improvement. Incentive payments are tied to improvements in health outcomes and patient safety.

“Upstate University Hospital is committed to providing high quality health care to the community we serve,” said James Legault, Upstate’s director of clinical practice analysis. “The ability to combine our goals with those of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield works well for both organizations in achieving quality patient safety outcomes.”

To earn incentive points, Upstate University Hospital:

- Implemented the Safe Motherhood Initiative at the Community Campus. This initiative is through The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the NYS DOH.

- Implemented a complaint management software system at Upstate’s Downtown and Community campuses.

- Improved post discharge continuing care plan transmittal for inpatient psychiatric patients

In 2015, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s Hospital Performance Incentive Program evaluated participating hospitals on more than 241 performance measures. Hospitals that received quality improvement incentive payments achieved 90 percent of all quality improvement targets.

In addition to achieving required clinical and patient safety measures in 2015, other nationally-endorsed measures and target outcomes were jointly agreed upon by each hospital and the health insurer using benchmarks established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, The Joint Commission, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and others.

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