Premera Blue Cross supports cancer diagnostics study

Premera Blue Cross applauds today’s announcement by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Group Health Research Institute, and the University of Washington Schools of Public Health and Pharmacy. Those organizations announced four important projects backed by approximately $16 million in federal stimulus funding for comparative-effectiveness research in cancer.

PREMERA SUPPORTS CANCER DIAGNOSTICS STUDY

Premera Blue Cross is taking an important supportive role in one of the four studies, a $4 million project based at the UW School of Public Health, led by Larry Kessler, chair of the UW Department of Health Services. This project will evaluate the effectiveness of cancer diagnostics used to determine the extent of disease and plan treatment. Diagnostics range from mammography and MRI to ultrasound, PET-CT, and blood- or tissue-based biomarkers.

“With Premera as part of this effort, we will have the benefit of real-world data about usage of diagnostics across a broad population in Washington State. As a result, what we learn will become more meaningful to our efforts to optimize the role that diagnostics play in diagnosing and monitoring cancer in patients,” said Kessler.

Premera hopes to use information generated by this study to further payment policies to promote efficient delivery of care. Premera’s specific support for the study includes:

• Data Sharing – Premera intends to provide data on the use of diagnostics in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of many of its members who have cancer. The data will be provided in a format that protects the identity of its members.
• Leadership – One of Premera’s medical directors, Dr. Tom Paulson, will serve with other local healthcare leaders and experts on the steering committee for this research.

“Having proactive partnerships with health plans and providers will allow us to study new technologies early in their launch into the market to make sure we are improving the value of the healthcare we provide cancer patients,” said Kessler.

The Cancer Diagnostics research project, called “Advancing Innovative Comparative Effectiveness Research in Cancer Diagnostics,” or ADVICE, will be co-led by investigators from the UW schools of Pharmacy and Medicine, Group Health, Veterans Affairs and the Hutchinson Center, which will serve as the study’s data center.

“Over the past decade, the field of both medical imaging and laboratory-based diagnostics has taken a quantum leap forward,” said Kessler in the research announcement. “However, the evidence to determine how to best use these modern technologies in clinical practice hasn’t kept pace with the technological developments. Our research will help providers and patients make better decisions about the use of these technologies, which ultimately will lead to the best possible outcomes.”

COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS WORK ESSENTIAL TO CREATING A SUSTAINABLE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

Supporting comparative-effectiveness research projects in Seattle is one way Premera is working with healthcare providers to improve health outcomes while reducing unnecessary costs.

Other examples of this work include:

• Premera’s partnership with Swedish Medical Center to expand access to primary care through its new, innovative Community Health Medical Home clinic in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood.
• Premera is partnering with two leading healthcare providers in Western Washington in the development of programs that focus on rewarding better health outcomes, not more medical procedures, for patients with diabetes.

“Supporting our network providers in efforts to improve the quality and effectiveness of healthcare is an important way we deliver peace of mind to our members,” said Gubby Barlow, CEO at Premera Blue Cross. “Keeping a continual focus on this effort in our community and across the country is one way we at Premera are working to create a sustainable healthcare system.”