PASADENA, Calif., Feb. 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Blue Shield of California has selected Huntington Hospital as a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement, part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated health care facilities that show a commitment to delivering high-quality patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed with input from the medical community and leading accreditation and quality organizations.
Facilities designated as Blue Distinction Centers® for Knee and Hip Replacement demonstrate expertise in total knee and total hip replacement surgeries, resulting in fewer patient complications and readmissions. Designated facilities include hospitals (with and without an onsite Intensive Care Unit) and Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASC). All designated facilities must maintain national accreditation and ASCs are also required to have an advanced orthopedic certification.
Knee and hip replacement procedures remain some of the most commonly performed, elective surgical procedures in the U.S., according to a 2018 study released by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. In 2014 there were 370,770 total hip replacements and 680,150 total knee replacements1.
“Huntington Hospital is proud to be recognized by Blue Shield of California for meeting the strict criteria for knee and hip replacements set by the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program,” said Todd Dietrick, MD, medical director, joint replacement program, Huntington Hospital. “We live in an active community. Thanks to the excellent orthopedic care of our joint replacement team of physicians, nurses, therapists and many others, our patients can safely recover and get back to doing the activities they enjoy most in life.”
“Blue Shield of California congratulates Huntington Hospital on their Blue Distinction designation for knee and hip replacement procedures. We are thankful for their commitment to helping to ensure our members have in-network access to high-quality specialty care that’s delivered safely and effectively,” said Terry Gilliland, executive vice president of Health Care Quality & Affordability at Blue Shield of California.
The Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality care in the areas of bariatric surgery, cancer care, cardiac care, cellular immunotherapy, fertility care, gene therapy, knee and hip replacements, maternity care, spine surgery, substance use treatment and recovery. Research for many of these programs shows that, compared to other providers, those designated as Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate higher-quality and improved outcomes for patients.
For more information about the program and for a complete listing of designated facilities, visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.
1 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Changing Demographics in Primary and Revision Total Joint Arthroplasty, 2000-2014 Matthew Sloan, Neil P Sheth, March 06, 2018.
About Huntington Hospital
Huntington Hospital, www.huntingtonhospital.org, is a 619-bed not-for-profit hospital in Pasadena, California. We are named among the top hospitals in California and nationally ranked in two specialties by U.S. News and World Report. Learn more about us on Facebook www.facebook.com/huntingtonmemorialhospital and on Twitter @huntingtonnews.
About Blue Shield of California
Blue Shield of California strives to create a health care system worthy of our family and friends that is sustainably affordable. We are a not for profit, independent member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association with over 4 million members, 6,800 employees and more than $20 billion in annual revenue. Founded in 1939 in San Francisco and now headquartered in Oakland, Blue Shield of California and its affiliates provide health, dental, vision, Medicaid and Medicare health care service plans in California. The company has contributed more than $500 million to Blue Shield of California Foundation since 2002 to have an impact on California communities.
For more news about Blue Shield of California, please visit news.blueshieldca.com. Or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.
About Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for one in three Americans. BCBSA provides health care insights through The Health of America Report series and the national BCBS Health Indexsm. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit BCBS.com. We also encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube and follow us on Twitter.
About Blue Distinction Centers
Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures for patient safety and outcomes, developed with input from the medical community. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for facilities located in its own service area; for details, contact your Local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable health care. Each facility’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Facilities in CA, ID, NY, PA, and WA may lie in two Local Blue Plans’ areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluation(s) must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider’s in-network status or your own policy’s coverage, contact your Local Blue Plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for non-covered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers.
SOURCE Huntington Hospital
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