Better healthcare decisions a click away for BCBSGA members

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Healthcare of Georgia (BCBSGA) has made access to hospital and other related healthcare information available to its members on its web site, www.bcbsga.com.

 The goal is to help patients better compare hospitals in their respective communities. Members can access the so-called "Healthcare Advisor" by logging on to the member access page. The link gives patients access to publicly reported hospital clinical information from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Leapfrog Group, and other sources available to BCBSGA members. The site offers hospital data, health conditions and information on medical procedures.

 Subimo Healthcare Advisor decision support tool provides the technology to make possible the patient connection to the information. Members are able to securely and privately navigate through relevant data on clinical quality experience, reputation and accreditation. The web site also offers information on a facility's capacity as a teaching hospital, its focus on children, the level of high technology and access to intensive care (ICU) and cardiac intensive care (CCU) units.

Around the web

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.

The newly cleared offering, AutoChamber, was designed with opportunistic screening in mind. It can evaluate many different kinds of CT images, including those originally gathered to screen patients for lung cancer. 

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