WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP) was recognized today as a 2009 BlueWorks® award winner. BlueWorks is a unique partnership between the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) and the Harvard Medical School Department of Health Care Policy that honors health care innovation that improves the quality and value of health care for consumers.
Harvard researchers evaluate and select programs offered by Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield companies for recognition based on innovation, efficacy and the potential for replication.
BCBSA and the Harvard Medical School selected WellPoint because of its work with Journey Forward, which promotes physician and patient understanding of the post-treatment effects of cancer. By facilitating the development of a survivorship care plan, the program aims to improve continuity and coordination of care for cancer survivors throughout their lives. Journey Forward is a collaboration among the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS), the UCLA Cancer Survivorship Center, Genentech, Inc. and WellPoint.
"WellPoint is committed to working with other health care partners to develop innovative programs and services that improve the health of our communities and consumers," said Angela F. Braly, president and CEO, WellPoint, Inc. "Through collaborative efforts like Journey Forward, we can help physicians, members and insurers work together toward short-term and long-term treatment plans that help ensure the most appropriate health care services for each patient."
Journey Forward was successfully implemented this year in WellPoint-affiliated health plans in California, Colorado, Maine, Nevada and New Hampshire. This pilot reached more than 40,000 primary care providers, oncology specialists and members. Later this year, Journey Forward will be rolled out in Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. Journey Forward information and materials are available to any provider, member or interested party - regardless of geography or health plan affiliation - through www.JourneyForward.org.