Another year is quickly coming to an end, and what a year it’s been in the local healthcare landscape, specifically for us here at BCBSRI. It’s also been another great year of working closely with you, our participating providers, to enhance the care and service provided to our members, your patients.
Over the past year in this space, we’ve covered a wide range of topics that we hope have given you unique insights and perspective. These include our partnership with Brown University to create the first RI Life Index, which will be used to create awareness of the impact of social determinants on health outcomes; the impactful results of our patient-centered pharmacy program; and the EQUIPPED program, our partnership with Brown Emergency Medicine that intends to reduce the occurrence of prescribing potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) that could cause harmful side effects for older patients.
The common thread running through these and other programs is that they won’t—and can’t—be successful without you. We strive every day to ensure that our members receive quality, cost-effective care and services when and where they need them, and we can’t achieve those goals alone.
And with that as a backdrop, I’ll look forward now to more big news coming in 2020.
As you have most likely heard, and now read in Provider Update, beginning on 1 de enero, BCBSRI will be the health plan for Rhode Island’s two largest employers: the State of Rhode Island and Lifespan. We’re honored to have the privilege to serve both groups, which now represent a significant portion of our membership. Looking at it differently, these members are our friends, family, and neighbors, and are comprised of people who are responsible for so many essential functions across our state, as well as throughout our healthcare system.
Together, we have an awesome responsibility to ensure that we keep these populations as healthy as they can be. It also ties in perfectly with our focus on understanding our state’s collective health and the challenges facing it, through initiatives like the RI Life Index, which I mentioned above. Working closely with you, we are looking forward to exceeding our own expectations for the quality and effectiveness of care provided to our members.
It’s truly a brand new era in healthcare in Rhode Island, and we’re more proud than ever to be a part of it. Thank you for your continued partnership, and warmest wishes for a safe, healthy, and warm holiday season.