Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the state's largest health insurer, is teaming up with a national cancer organization to collect and analyze treatment data on tens of thousands of patients in Michigan.

It's the latest push by the nonprofit insurer to help improve patient care and trim health care costs for its clients by working with hospitals and doctors to pool medical information on everything from treating breast cancer to heart surgery.

Similar efforts in the past have boosted reductions in hospital deaths and saved millions of dollars in unnecessary medical expenditures, Blue Cross officials say.

The data collection is also one way insurers are getting more involved with the delivery of medical care to better protect their own financial health at a time when health care costs are spiraling upward.

"Its main focus is on quality, but we recognize that we may save some costs for customers," said Dr. Thomas Simmer, Blue Cross's senior vice president and chief medical officer.

This time around, Blue Cross is working with the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Alexandria, Va., to collect data from 11 oncology practices in Michigan, which combined represent 180 doctors and treat 16,000 patients a year.

Blue Cross said it plans to spend about $500,000 this year on the initiative, with each doctor getting about $3,000 in payments to offset the costs of gathering the information.

The collection began in May and an initial round of results is expected within the next month, although Blue Cross won't know the exact savings for about another year and a half, said Helen Stojic, a Blue Cross spokeswoman.

All the information collected goes into a national registry set up by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, which represents 25,000 cancer professionals nationwide, allowing doctors to compare notes with physicians in other states on what treatment methods work best and what needs improvement.

The registry, established in 2006, draws input from about 385 oncology practices nationwide and targets several aspects of cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy-related side effects and pain management.

For example, information gathered on chemotherapy-induced dehydration, and how to prevent it, could reduce the number of hospital admissions for cancer patients, Simmer of Blue Cross said.

Dr. Allen Lichter, chief executive officer for the American Society of Clinical Oncology, said Blue Cross is the first insurer to help its doctor members pay for the cost of pulling charts and compiling information on treatment.

Cancer patients, costs rise
The number of new cancer patients being diagnosed each year is on the rise in Michigan. Last year, 54,410 new cancer cases were reported in the state, up from 45,800 in 2003, according to the American Cancer Society.

Medical expenditures for cancer care also have been on the upswing, increasing 10 percent, to more than $750 million, from 2005 to 2006, according to Blue Cross.

The Blue Cross initiative will give Michigan doctors a better way to evaluate how their treatment methods stand up to those of other physicians across the country, said Dr. Douglas Blayney, medical director of the University of Michigan's Comprehensive Cancer Center and president-elect for the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

And that, in turn, is not only good for business but helps make treatment more comfortable and effective for patients.

"This program should help every oncologist measure the quality of the product they are providing," Blayney said.

Return to top of page
last updated: 08/11/08

Washington Square Building, 5th Floor · 109 Michigan Ave. · Lansing, Michigan USA 48913 Toll-Free: (877) 588-6224 · Fax: (517) 335-9397 ·