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Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska Rewards Internists for Completing American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Evaluation of Practice Modules

First ever program of its kind to advance quality of care in Nebraska

Omaha, NE and Philadelphia, PA, March 2, 2006 – In a first-of-its-kind initiative to promote quality improvement in health care, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska (BCBSNE) is encouraging its network internists to participate in a program from the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) that enables them to measure, demonstrate and achieve recognition for their health care quality improvement efforts. More than 98 percent of physicians in Nebraska are part of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield network, and more than 600 of them practice internal medicine or one of its subspecialties (e.g., cardiology, gastroenterology).

In order to participate, internists must be enrolled in the ABIM’s Maintenance of Certification program, which is designed to engage physicians in lifelong learning and enhance the knowledge and skills essential to high quality care. Internists must also complete one of the Maintenance of Certification program’s web-based self-evaluation tools – a Practice Improvement Module (PIM) – annually.

PIMs are innovative assessment tools that allow physicians to analyze and evaluate practice performance so that they can improve the quality of their patient care. PIMs are available for internists practicing in many areas of primary and specialty care. In support of this initiative, BCBSNE will recognize these physicians and defray the costs of program completion.

"Many physicians are focused on quality improvement, but we have never before had a formal way to measure such efforts, recognize those doctors for enhancing quality of patient care, and encourage others to do the same," said Timothy Ranney, MD, Senior Vice President of health service programs and Chief Medical Officer for BCBSNE. "Collaborating with the physician community on a common goal of enhancing health care quality for our members and all Nebraskans is a win-win."

"ABIM is pleased to partner with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska to further quality health care," said Christine K. Cassel, MD, President and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine. "We encourage other health plans to follow BCBSNE’s lead by putting performance assessment and continuous quality improvement front and center in their programs. Such efforts can go a long way in assuring the public that their physicians have the knowledge and skills that are necessary to provide high quality care."

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, provides health care coverage or benefit administration to more than 560,000 people. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska is a not-for-profit mutual insurance company.

About ABIM
For more than 75 years, certification by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has stood for the highest standard in internal medicine and its 19 subspecialties and has meant that internists have demonstrated – to their peers and to the public – that they have the clinical judgment, skills and attitudes essential for the delivery of excellent patient care. ABIM is not a membership society, but a non-profit, independent evaluation organization. Our accountability is both to the profession of medicine and to the public. ABIM is a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties. For additional updates, follow ABIM on Facebook and Twitter.