Blue Cross, Henry Ford launch statewide blood clot prevention initiative

One of the biggest boogeymen in healthcare is the blood clot. A monster Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Care Network, the University of Michigan Medical Center, New Center-based Henry Ford Hospital and 15 other hospitals throughout the state are working together to tackle.

The new initiative, part of the Value Partnerships collaborative, is focused on getting the state's major hospitals at improving quality care by reducing the risk of blood clots, a common problem that causes further sickness or even death for patients. The new consortium will work in unison to study, benchmark and implement the best practices to eliminate preventable blood clots.

"It's really something where the knowledge is out there," says Tom Leyden, manager of clinical program development at downtown-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. "The collaboration is working to make sure it's implemented."

The long-term initiative plans to spend the first couple of years assessing the problem and what various solutions are available in its first year. Picking low-hanging fruit could reduce the blood clot rate by as much as 50 percent in that time. That reduction could have a significant impact on raising the level of patient care and decreasing health-care costs.

"We're not looking for an immediate improvement but a significant improvement over the next year-and-a-half to two years," Leyden says.

Source: Tom Leyden, manager of clinical program development at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Writer: Jon Zemke