Community Collaboratives

Regence makes quality measures available on a community basis by partnering with community collaboratives. Community collaboratives are organizations that bring data from broad sources together to create quality performance measures that can be used by all in the community.

By providing useful quality and cost information to our members, we are creating a culture where patients learn to access and experience value in health care.

Regence decided to pursue this strategy for many different reasons, including:

• Learning is shared
• Duplication is minimized
• The combined results are greater
• Access to national support/external resources may be more readily available

Regence actively supports and participates in the following Washington community efforts:

The Washington Puget Sound Health Alliance
The Washington Puget Sound Health Alliance (PSHA) is made up of community members (employers, physicians, hospitals, consumers and health plans) working toward a shared goal of improving the quality and costs of health care in their area. While the organization is focused on the Puget Sound area - King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish and Thurston counties in Washington- this collaborative group is viewed as a regional model.

Community Checkup Report
Medical and technical experts throughout the region worked together with the Alliance to develop the Community Checkup Report, providing a foundation for improving health care quality and affordability. Compare health care at clinics or hospitals, and activities of health plans in the Puget Sound area.   

Washington State Hospital Association
Today, there are 98 community hospitals in Washington State.  The Washington State Hospital Association takes a major leadership role in issues that affect delivery, quality, accessibility, affordability and continuity of health care.
The Washington State Hospital Association and its member hospitals publish information which is available to consumers.  This information allows consumers to make informed decisions about where they choose to seek care.

In addition, WSHA assists policy makers and the public measure the cost and quality of hospital care. Information on hospital pricing and quality and answers to commonly asked questions about hospital bills can be found on the WSHA Web site under Hospital Transparency.

In support of Never Events

“Never Events” is a term used generically to refer to Hospital Acquired Condition (HACs), Iatrogenic Complications and Serious Reportable Events.  Never Events are events that should never happen in a hospital setting. According to the National Quality Forum (NQF), Never Events are errors in medical care that are clearly identifiable, preventable, and serious in their consequences for patients. These events indicate a significant problem in the safety and credibility of a health care facility.

The Washington Hospital Association and Washington Medical Association, under a voluntary agreement with medical facilities, physicians and other health care professionals, have pledged their commitment to stop billing patients for egregious medical errors. This initial step acknowledges and works to eliminate never events in the medical community.

Regence BlueShield supports this agreement through our Reimbursement Policy to reduce and ultimately eliminate unnecessary medical errors.