Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and Illinois Cancer Specialists Announce First Oncology Intensive Medical Home Pilot in the State

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Health

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) and Illinois Cancer Specialists (ICS), a practice in The US Oncology Network, announce the first oncology intensive medical home (IMH) pilot program in Illinois. The overall goal of the oncology IMH is to provide coordinated, cost-effective care, in part, through the use of evidence-based medical treatment guidelines. Last November, the program started identifying BCBSIL PPO patients who were currently being treated by an ICS physician. To qualify, patients must be receiving chemotherapy or hormone therapy, with a cancer diagnosis of breast, colon, lung, pancreatic, prostate and any non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The program intends to enroll 150-200 patients per year. Current ICS patients are selected to join the program for six months while receiving treatment at one of the ten ICS sites: Arlington Heights, Bolingbrook, Chicago/Resurrection Hospital, Elgin, Hinsdale, Hoffman Estates, Huntley, McHenry, Niles and Woodstock.

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Health

Through the new IMH pilot, enrolled patients being treated at ICS will receive the free services of an ICS Nurse Care Manager (NCM), an oncology certified nurse whose primary purpose is to proactively address the challenging needs of oncology patients. The NCM will provide disease and treatment education, schedule phone calls after treatment, and closely follow symptom management issues. Subsequent meetings may include continued use of chemotherapy, advance care planning and hospice when appropriate. The ICS physicians will continue to assess these patients to develop and implement a plan of care that will attempt to actively address the patients’ needs during their treatments and beyond. BCBSIL and ICS physicians will meet quarterly to exchange information and discuss if the IMH is a sustainable model for benefit and care delivery services. Some of the information discussed will include metrics on hospital admission rates, hospital days, ER visits, office visits and home health visits.

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