What has changed for 2009?
In 2009, the BlueQ Scorecard will add recognition for voluntary participation/designation in the following programs:
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What is the BlueQ Performance ribbon?
The BlueQ Performance Ribbon is based on the BlueQ Hospital Scorecard, which uses recognized, publicly reported measures from organizations such as the Leapfrog Group, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The report includes measures such as appropriate ICU staffing, management of patients with cardiac conditions such as heart attack and heart failure and patient safety measures. Facilities are also recognized for voluntary programs such as Blue Distinction, IHI 5 Million Lives Campaign, etc. Results are compiled from publicly reported sources and an overall score assigned.
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What is the Affordability scale?
The BlueCompare Affordability scale compares general acute care hospitals on medical/surgical costs for inpatient services. The average cost of an inpatient stay is adjusted so hospitals performing more complex procedures on sicker patients can be reasonable compared to hospitals performing less complex procedures on less sick patients. The costs analyzed include all services provided by the hospital during an inpatient stay, such as labs, X-rays, and medications, as well as the room and board charges.
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What does the BlueQ Performance ribbon mean?
A dark blue ribbon indicates the medical/surgical general acute care hospital is recognized for exceeding expected performance compared to peers in the same geographic region. A light blue ribbon indicates the medical/surgical general acute care hospital is recognized for meeting expected performance compared to peers in the same geographic region. A clear ribbon indicates the medical/surgical general acute care hospital did not meet expected performance compared to peers in the same geographic region.
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Why do some hospitals not have a ribbon?
A hospital may not have a ribbon if:
- The hospital did not have sufficient data at the time of measurement,
- The performance criteria were not met, or
- The hospital is not a general or acute care facility.
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Where do the measures come from?
The results used for the BlueQ Ribbon come from several publicly reported sources:
- The Leapfrog Group (Leapfrog)
- The Joint Commission
- The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
- The Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ) and WebMD
- IHI 5 Million Lives Campaign
- ANCC’s Magnet Recognition Program or Pathway to Excellence
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How do I use BlueQ?
BlueQ is a tool that provides helpful information about medical/surgical general acute care hospitals in our PPO networks, BlueChoice® and BlueChoice Solutions. The information is not meant to tell members which hospital to choose, but is available as a resource to assist in this important decision making process.
For more information on choosing the right hospital, please read the document “Your Guide to Quality Healthcare, Choosing a Hospital” from the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research.
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How often are medical/surgical general acute care hospitals evaluated?
Medical/Surgical general acute care hospitals will be evaluated on an annual basis, with BlueQ reports and Affordability scale information communicated in the Fall and BlueCompare results posted via the internet around the beginning of the following year.
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Why do I not have an Affordability scale?
In order to be evaluated for an Affordability scale, a medical/surgical general acute care hospital must have 50 or more inpatient admissions per year.
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Why did I not receive a BlueQ report?
All medical/surgical general acute cure hospitals were evaluated for reporting, however, some facilities did not receive a report as there was no data available from any of the reporting sources for certain hospitals.
Hospitals or facilities that are not classified as a medical/surgical general acute care hospital on BCBSTX Provider Finder did not receive a report. Examples include pediatric hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, and psychiatric hospitals.
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Which hospitals should report to Leapfrog?
According to Leapfrog's Web site and the Hospital Quality and Safety Survey FAQs, hospitals that should report to Leapfrog include acute care and short term general hospitals. Leapfrog does not specify the number of beds a hospital must have to report survey results. Review Leapfrog's FAQs.
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What was the cut off date for reporting to Leapfrog?
According to the Leapfrog Web site, hospitals should have submitted a 2008 survey by June 30 to be included in Leapfrog’s first release of 2008 survey results. Those results were released in late July and fully replaced all 2007 survey results. If a facility failed to complete and submit a survey, a survey may still be submitted. At the end of July and monthly thereafter, Leapfrog will update and release results on the second business day of the following month based on 2008 surveys (re)submitted by the end of the month.
BCBSTX sourced results for the 2008 BlueQ report from Leapfrog's Web site as of August 25, 2008 .
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How was scoring determined for the Leapfrog category?
Results were sourced from Leapfrog's Web site and the following values assigned by BCBSTX:
Fully implemented, 2 points
Willing to Report Publicly, 1 point
Good Early Stage Effort, 1 point
Good Progress, 1 point
Not Applicable, excluded from the denominator
Not Targeted, excluded from the denominator
Did not report, 0 points
Null, 0 points
Possible points and points earned were summed for the category and are a part of the overall hospital score.
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How was scoring determined for the IHI campaign?
Results were sourced from IHI’s Web site and the following values assigned by BCBSTX:
Fully Committed facilities, 3 points
Mentor Hospital , 2 points, numerator only
Participating facilities, 1 point, which includes hospital systems
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How was scoring determined for The Joint Commission?
Results were sourced from The Joint Commission’s Web site and the following values were assigned by BCBSTX:
Accredited, 5 points
Provisional Accreditation, 4 points
Conditional Accreditation, 3 points
Denial of Accreditation, 0 points
Not Accredited, 0 points
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How was scoring determined for the Magnet Recognition Program and Pathway to Excellence?
Results were sourced from American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Web site and the following values assigned by BCBSTX:
Pathway to Excellence designation, 3 points
Magnet Recognition Program, 3 points
Points were awarded for one program or the other.
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How was scoring determined for the Blue Distinction designation?
Points were awarded for each Blue Distinction designation, 2 points for each designation and applied to the numerator only.
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Can a medical/surgical general acute care hospital opt out of the BlueQ Ribbon display in Provider Finder?
Yes, a medical/surgical general acute care hospital can choose to opt out of the BlueQ ribbon display in Provider Finder. In 2009, Provider Finder will indicate that a hospital has elected to opt out of the BlueQ ribbon display.
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