Beaumont, Royal Oak named Blue Distinction Center for Complex and Rare Cancers

Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, has been named a Blue Distinction Center ^SM for Complex and Rare Cancers as part of a national program by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and its HMO affiliate, Blue Care Network. Only two Michigan hospitals earned this prestigious distinction for complex cancers. There are other Blue Distinction honors in cardiac care, transplants and bariatric surgery.

Blue Distinction Centers for Complex and Rare Cancers are medical facilities that contract with local Blue Cross Blue Shield plans and offer comprehensive inpatient cancer care programs for adults, delivered by multidisciplinary teams with subspecialty training and distinguished clinical expertise in treating complex and rare subtypes of cancer.  Beaumont, Royal Oak was designated for:

• Bladder cancer
• Bone tumor - primary
• Brain cancer
• Esophageal cancer
• Head and neck cancers
• Liver cancer
• Pancreatic cancer
• Rectal cancer
• Soft tissue sarcomas
• Thyroid (Medullary and Anaplastic)

Complex and rare cancers comprise approximately 15 percent of new cancer cases each year, making it challenging for patients to locate or research facilities with oncologists or surgical teams that are experienced in treating these specific malignancies.

"Blue Distinction seeks to support consumers as they identify medical facilities that best meet their needs and ultimately help improve care for our members," said Robert Milewski, senior vice president of contracting and hospital relations for BCBSM.  "This program is a national association initiative includes Blue Cross plans across the country."

Along with Beaumont, Royal Oak, University of Michigan Hospitals was also named a Blue Distinction Center for Complex and Rare Cancers.

"This program is part of our ongoing efforts to raise the overall quality of health care and to collaborate with leading hospitals and physicians to promote care based on objective, evidence-based criteria," said Douglas R. Woll, M.D., senior vice president and chief medical officer of Blue Care Network.

Blue Distinction Centers for Complex and Rare Cancers were developed in strategic collaboration with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and input from a panel of leading clinicians and professional organizations. (While not formally endorsing the designation, NCCN provided input and information.) The designation is based on rigorous, evidence-based selection criteria established in collaboration with leading clinicians, medical societies and professional organizations.  The designation is focused primarily on multidisciplinary treatment planning and complex, major surgical treatments. 

With this expansion of Blue Distinction centers, there are a total 780 Blue Distinction Centers nationwide in the areas of rare and complex cancers, cardiac care, transplants and bariatric surgery, including 25 Blue Distinction Centers in Michigan. 

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit organization, provides and administers health benefits to more than 4.6 million members residing in Michigan in addition to members of Michigan-headquartered groups who reside outside the state. Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 39 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for more than 100 million individuals - one-in-three Americans.

Beaumont Hospitals' Oncology Services department is committed to strategies that catch cancer early when it is most treatable. In addition to care in doctors' offices, Beaumont offers cancer prevention counseling, diagnosis and care at its hospitals in Royal Oak and Troy, including resource centers that are available to anyone in the community wanting to learn more about cancer; support groups; integrative medicine; minority outreach forums; and a cancer clinical trials office, where leading-edge therapies are offered as part of medical research. The National Cancer Institute has designated Beaumont Hospitals as a Community Clinical Oncology Program, one of just 50 in the country that connect academic centers with community physicians who enroll patients in medical research. The Royal Oak hospital ranks 38th for cancer on the 2007 list of "America's Best Hospitals" by U.S. News & World Report.

Note:  Designation as Blue Distinction Centers means these facilities' overall experience and aggregate data met objective criteria established in collaboration with expert clinicians' and leading professional organizations' recommendations.  Individual outcomes may vary.  To find out which services are covered under your policy at any facilities, please call your local Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield Plan; and call your provider before making an appointment, to verify the most current information on their Network participation status.  Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any of its Licensees are responsible for any damages, losses, or non-covered charges that may result from a provider listed as a Blue Distinction Center.