What is the BlueQ Ribbon?
The BlueQ 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 ICU physician staffing, management of patients with cardiac conditions such as heart attack and heart failure and patient safety measures. Results are compiled from publicly reported sources and an overall score assigned.
Top of Page
What is the Affordability Scale?
The Affordability Scale is a comparison between medical/surgical general acute care hospitals' costs for inpatient services. The allowed amount per admission as determined by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) is risk adjusted so that hospitals performing more complex procedures on higher acuity patients may be compared reasonably to hospitals performing less complex procedures on lower acuity patients. The costs used for analysis 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.
Top of Page
What does the BlueQ ribbon mean?
A dark blue ribbon indicates the medical/surgical general acute care hospital is recognized for excellent performance compared to peers in the same geographic region. A light blue ribbon indicates the medical/surgical general acute care hospital is recognized for commendable performance compared to peers in the same geographic region. A clear ribbon indicates the medical/surgical general acute care hospital did not meet criteria for excellent or commendable performance compared to peers in the same geographic region.
Top of Page
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 requested that their BlueQ ribbon not be shown at this time, or
- The hospital is not a general or acute care facility.
Top of Page
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
Top of Page
How does a hospital earn points for BlueQ?
Hospitals earn points in several ways: achieving accreditation through The Joint Commission; submitting data to Leapfrog; scoring in the top percentile on CMS, AHRQ and WebMD measures.
Top of Page
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.
Top of Page
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.
Top of Page
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.
Top of Page
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.
Top of Page
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.
Top of Page
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.
Top of Page
What was the cut off date for reporting to Leapfrog?
BCBSTX sourced results from Leapfrog's Web site as of July 10, 2007.
Top of Page
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. Should a hospital elect this option, in 2007, a blank will be displayed in Provider Finder. In 2008, Provider Finder will indicate that a hospital has elected to opt out of the BlueQ Ribbon display.
Top of Page
|
