Chicago (March 30, 2016) - Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) and Illinois Cancer Specialists (ICS), a practice in The US Oncology Network, announce the first oncology intensive medical home (IMH) pilot program in Illinois. The overall goal of the oncology IMH is to provide coordinated, cost-effective care, in part, through the use of evidence-based medical treatment guidelines.

“We worked with ICS physicians to develop the Oncology IMH model as a patient-focused system of delivering benefits for quality cancer care that is coordinated and efficient,” said Walter Hollinger, M.D., medical director of strategic operations at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. “As such, the pilot program is designed to help meet the needs of patients, payers, and providers.”

Last November, the program started identifying BCBSIL PPO patients who were currently being treated by an ICS physician. To qualify, patients must be receiving chemotherapy or hormone therapy, with a cancer diagnosis of breast, colon, lung, pancreatic, prostate and any non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The program intends to enroll 150-200 patients per year. Current ICS patients are selected to join the program for six months while receiving treatment at one of the ten ICS sites: Arlington Heights, Bolingbrook, Chicago/Resurrection Hospital, Elgin, Hinsdale, Hoffman Estates, Huntley, McHenry, Niles and Woodstock.
“We at Illinois Cancer Specialists sought to improve efficiency and quality by following NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®), leading to the development of a patient-centered, value-based cancer care program,” said David Hakimian, M.D., practice president, ICS. “Our goal is to provide evidence-based validated, outcome-driven patient care. This type of quality care also has to meet the national quality standards that follow cost-effective pathways to provide access and affordability to patients.”

Illinois Cancer Specialists provides Chicago area patients with advanced, comprehensive, compassionate cancer care in a community setting. The practice employs the latest technologies and drug therapies to ensure patients receive high-quality care for their particular diagnosis in a collaborative setting. ICS treatment centers feature outpatient treatment including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, positron emission tomography (PET), computerized tomography (CT), stem cell transplant, laboratory, x-ray studies, specialized pharmaceuticals, and clinical research, including immuno-oncology trials. A study published in the American Journal of Managed Care in 2015 titled, “Cost Differential by Site of Service for Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy,” has shown that providing chemotherapy in a community setting rather than a hospital setting allows patients to stay near loved ones while receiving high-quality care at a lower cost.

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