Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas has re-designated Houston Northwest Medical Center as a Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care. To date, more than 400 facilities nationwide have received a Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care designation.
As part of Blue Distinction®, facilities are required to reapply periodically for re-evaluation. This review process confirms that all Blue Distinction Centers®, new and old, continue to meet Blue Distinction’s evidence-based quality thresholds, determined in collaboration with expert physicians and organizations. It also provides an opportunity to improve the overall quality of care, by requiring all Blue Distinction Centers to meet selection criteria that keep abreast of ongoing advances in clinical practice.
The need for quality cardiac care is urgent: The American Heart Association estimates that this year alone, 1.2 million Americans will experience a first or recurrent heart attack.
Houston Northwest Medical Center offers comprehensive cardiac care services, including inpatient cardiac care, cardiac rehabilitation, cardiac catheterization and cardiac surgery (including coronary artery bypass graft surgery).*
“We are pleased that the designation of Blue Distinction Centers provides another opportunity for Blue Cross to demonstrate our commitment to working with our network of physicians and hospitals who deliver care that meets the high quality standards of the Blue Distinction program,” says Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, vice president and chief medical officer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. “Because of ongoing quality management and improvement programs, those standards ensure that Blue Distinction Centers will continue to deliver the highest quality, full-service care to their patients.”
“Blue Distinction puts a high value on research and evidence-based health and medical information,” says Allan Korn, MD, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Chief Medical Officer. “Blue Distinction Centers show our commitment to working with doctors and hospitals in communities across the country to identify leading institutions that meet clinically validated quality standards and deliver better overall outcomes in patient care.”
To be designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care, Houston Northwest Medical Center met the selection criteria posted at www.BCBS.com, which includes:
· an established cardiac care program, performing required annual volumes for certain procedures (e.g. a minimum of 125 cardiac surgical procedures annually, including both CABG and/or valve surgery)
· appropriate experience of its cardiac team, including sub-specialty board certification for interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons
· an established acute care inpatient facility, including intensive care, emergency and a full range of cardiac services
· full accreditation by The Joint Commission, Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP) or national equivalent**
· low overall complication and mortality rates
· a comprehensive quality management program
Blue Distinction is a designation awarded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies to medical facilities that have demonstrated expertise in delivering quality health care. The designation is based on rigorous, evidence-based selection criteria established in collaboration with expert physicians’ and medical organizations’ recommendations. Today, more than 800 Blue Distinction Center designations have been awarded to facilities nationwide, providing consumers with a framework for making informed decisions on where to go for specialty care in the areas of bariatric surgery, cardiac care, complex and rare cancers, and transplants.
* At the discretion of the local BCBS Plan and under a specified contingency process, a facility that provides the full range of cardiac services but does not provide on-site coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery may be considered for Blue Distinction designation if it is part of a cooperative system with a qualifying facility that provides emergency backup CABG for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and meets our contingency criteria. Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care without on-site CABG will be differentiated from full-service Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care in program listings.
Note: Designation as Blue Distinction Centers means these facilities' overall experience and aggregate data met objective criteria established in collaboration with expert clinicians' and leading professional organizations’ recommendations. Individual outcomes may vary. To find out which services are covered under your policy at any facilities, please call your local Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield Plan.
About Houston Northwest Medical Center
Houston Northwest Medical Center is located at 710 F.M. 1960 West in Houston. Houston Northwest Medical Center has been serving the North Houston community for 35 years. The hospital is an Accredited Chest Pain Center by the Society of Chest Pain Centers. Houston Northwest Medical Center ranks among the nation’s top hospitals for several service lines including critical care, stroke and general surgery by HealthGrades, an independent health care ratings company. Houston Northwest Medical Center is also a designated Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. To learn more about Houston Northwest Medical Center, a facility accredited by The Joint Commission, visit www.hnmc.com.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas – the only statewide, customer-owned health insurer in Texas – is the largest provider of health benefits in the state, working with nearly 40,000 physicians and 400 hospitals to serve 4 million members in all 254 counties. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is a division of Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), the country’s largest customer owned health insurer and fourth largest health insurer overall. HCSC is a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.