Sacramento Part of Pilot Program in Blue Shield's "Health Reimagined"

Listen to the iHeartMedia interview with Peter Long, senior vice president of Healthcare and Community Health Transformation at Blue Shield of California, a nonprofit health plan with over $20 billion in annual revenue serving over 4 million members in the state’s commercial, individual, and government markets

Blue Shield has launched 20 pilot programs in four counties – Butte, Los Angeles, Monterey and Sacramento. The efforts range from a customized virtualcare system so patients can see their own doctor via smart phone, tablet or computer, to an Apple Watch-enabled virtual assistant that helps physicians create an electronic medical record with their voice, and settling all claims in real-time before the patient leaves the physician’s office or the hospital.

Blue Shield’s solutions cover three main categories:

• Holistic health: Studies show that a person’s health and well-being are also influenced by social determinants outside the doctor’s office or the hospital. Blue Shield’s efforts include addressing a wide array of external issues such as access to healthy foods, transportation and behavioral support.

• Personal care: Blue Shield believes in health care that places patients at the center. That means giving patients and their doctors tools, time and space to have meaningful medical visits and conversations so they can tackle tough health issues together

. • High-tech, high-touch: Blue Shield is using modern technologies for patients and their doctors, such as a customized telemedicine system. The health plan also supports a statewide health information exchange for patient records so providers can have enhanced and efficient ways to deliver care. In addition, Blue Shield is transforming within by reimagining how a health plan operates to create customer, member and provider experiences that are transparent and in real-time.