If you’re healthy, you want to stay healthy. If you’re dealing with a sudden, short-term illness, you want to get the information and treatment you need to get back to your old self. And if you’re facing a chronic (long-term) illness, you want to know how to best manage your condition.

That’s why we’ve created Blueprint for Health^®. It’s an action plan that goes beyond the notion of traditional service to help our members with personalized, caring solutions. We’ve packaged all our care and service programs to support who you are, where you live and what you need when you need it.

Our dedicated professionals, committed to working on your behalf, can provide valuable information about:

• Health care services ordered by your doctors
• Health plan benefits
• Chronic conditions—like diabetes and heart failure—and how to manage them

But it doesn’t end there. Blueprint for Health brings with it a level of service you can depend on. Our customer advocates will support, encourage and guide you every step of the way, so you can understand and access affordable, innovative health care options at just the right time and in just the right way. They will go the extra mile to help you find the resources you need— whether it’s a community program or accommodations like Ronald McDonald House.

Whether healthy or dealing with health issues, you can take advantage of a Blueprint for Health program to help you make smarter health care decisions, enjoy better health outcomes and reduce your health care costs. These value-added services are offered at no additional cost to you.

Staying healthy through prevention and wellness
Our Blueprint for Health program can help you understand your health risks and the steps you can take to best improve your health. We offer:

• Awareness and education programs on healthy lifestyles, including good eating habits and the importance of regular exercise and not smoking
• An online health risk assessment tool to help members determine individual risk and take steps to improve outcomes
• Worksite awareness programs, such as health fairs, to educate members and help identify those at risk for intervention and follow up. Members complete a health risk assessment, have their blood pressure taken and blood analyzed, then meet with a registered nurse/ health coach to discuss the results.
• The Healthy Addition^® program for pregnant women who may be at risk for complications
• The BlueComplements^SM program offering an array of health-related discounted products and services, including weight-loss, fitness and smoking-cessation programs

“I’m a person, not a disease, so having the support of a health coach means I’m better able to manage my health—and my daily life.”

Support for understanding your options
As you get more actively involved in making decisions about your health care, you’re faced with choosing who will treat you and where, as well as what treatments are best for you. We can help ease the burden by providing the tools and services you need to:

• Get health coaching
• Find prescription drug information
• Choose the most qualified doctor and hospital for your needs
• Estimate your costs before your health care visit
• Determine the best treatment option
• Avoid unnecessary costs
• Identify immediate, short-term and long-term actions you should take
• Expedite your member service

“I appreciate all the different resources available to get the information I need—like comparing hospital quality data, physician attributes and performance, health care costs and treatment options.”

Helping you cope with chronic conditions
Dealing with the physical and emotional challenges of a long-term health condition isn’t easy. Coping with pain, following doctor’s orders and trying to prevent complications can be overwhelming. It helps to have someone knowledgeable who can act as your advocate.

Blueprint for Health provides just that—your own personal health coach, a registered nurse who will make sure you are getting the best care and taking care of yourself in the best ways possible. It can mean the difference between you controlling the condition or your condition controlling you. We offer support in three different ways:

• Disease management programs are specifically tailored to your condition and needs and include targeted outreach to members with chronic conditions. To help more members, we have expanded disease management efforts in 2007 from five conditions to 39 conditions, including chronic, rare and progressive diseases.
  

  The programs provide 24/7 support through unbiased and evidence-based online information and health coaching to help you carefully consider potential risks, benefits and outcomes of treatment options. You’ll get tips on how to recognize early warning signs and symptoms and when to seek immediate medical care. Educational material also is provided to family members and caregivers, along with information on community resources available. Armed with this information, you can work more closely with your physicians to make health care decisions appropriate to your personal values and preferences.

• Better You from Blue: Next Steps is a prevention program to help people who don’t yet have chronic conditions but have risk factors for developing chronic conditions. (See What's New? for details.)
• Pharmacy programs (like Responsible Rx) ensure dosage safety in keeping with FDA and manufacturers’ recommended dosing and monitor risks like potentially adverse drug-to-drug interactions.

“I was hospitalized and needed special services when I went home. The case manager was very helpful. She arranged for a wheelchair and oxygen, and called me after I got home to make sure I had everything I needed.”

Urgent care support
An injury or the sudden onset of a health condition can change your health status overnight. When that happens, you need help to know the best way to get the care you need. Blueprint for Health offers the services of medical professionals to help you make the best choices for your situation. That includes making sure all your care is coordinated, so you can maximize your time and benefits and minimize unnecessary hassles.

“The care coordinator was extremely helpful to me in getting a prescription filled that my daughter needs. I am so appreciative, and I am comforted knowing she will be available to help me as my future needs arise.”

It’s like having someone who really knows the ropes leading you through the health care process. That lets you concentrate on what’s most important—getting well. Our care coordinators offer:

• Health information to help you understand your condition and treatment options
• Case management to maximize your benefits and the care you are receiving, while minimizing unnecessary hassles
• Hospital care coordination to manage your care while in the hospital and make sure the transition is smooth when you are discharged
• Outreach to make sure you’re following your doctor’s treatment plan and aren’t experiencing a setback

Support for your doctors
Helping you is only part of the equation. We work closely with participating doctors and other health care providers to encourage delivery of the best medicine, offering various programs and tools such as:

• A reward program for physicians who consistently provide the highest standard of care and service
• Patient safety information to make the health care you receive as safe as possible
• E–medicine tools to help you and your physicians easily communicate with each other regarding such matters as prescription refills, scheduling appointments and obtaining referrals
• Secure access to your health claims records with as complete a picture as possible of your medical history
• Cultural competence training to help eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care treatment and to help you and your doctor communicate effectively

Blueprint for Health is all that and more. It’s one answer to the question, “How can BLUE help you?”

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Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Inc. (BCBSF) has entered into an arrangement with vendors such as Health Dialog^® and Accordant Health Services to provide our members with value-added features that include care decision support tools and services. BCBSF has not certified or credentialed, and cannot guarantee or be held responsible for, the quality of services provided by these vendors. All decisions pertaining to medical/clinical judgment should be made with your physician or other health care provider. BCBSF and the aforementioned vendors do not provide medical care or advice. The written terms of your policy, certificate or benefit booklet determine what is covered.