Save Lives / Save Dollars (TM)

Driving quality and cost savings.

Save Lives Save Dollars (SLSD) is a multi-year initiative of coordinated, immediate and long-term actions to drive quality improvement (save lives) and derive cost reductions (save dollars) in southeastern Michigan.  Program implementation began October 2005.

Sponsoring Organizations and Partners:

• ACCESS
• Beaumont Hospitals
• Blue Care Network of Michigan
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
• Botsford Health Care Continuum
• Chrysler, LLC
• Comerica
• Detroit Medical Center
• Detroit Regional Chamber
• DTE Energy
• General Motors Corporation
• Health Alliance Plan
• Henry Ford Health System
• Humana
• Huron Valley Physician Association
• International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 547
• Medical Network One
• Molina Healthcare of Michigan
• MPRO
• Novartis
• Novo Nordisk 
• Oakland Southfield Physicians, PC
• Oakwood Healthcare System
• Pfizer
• Priority Health
• Rite Aid
• State of Michigan
• St. John Health
• St. John Medical Group, PC
• Trinity Health
• UnitedHealthcare
• United Outstanding Physicians, LLC
• United Physicians, PC
• University of Michigan Health System
• Walbridge Aldinger
• Wayne County Medical Society

Goal

• Achieve 100% adherence to selected guidelines
• Produce savings of $500 million over 3 years, or reduce the rate of increase health care expenditures by 1–3 % in Southeast Michigan

Strategy

Align all stakeholders in SEM to:

• Adopt standard performance metrics and measure performance
• Accelerate compliance with evidence-based guidelines
• Pay providers based on performance metrics
• Foster organized systems of care

Significant Milestones and Deliverables

The regional momentum of Save Lives Save Dollars is strong. The following has been accomplished through multi-stakeholder leadership and participation:

• Recruited a collaborative group of diverse stakeholders to drive change — long-term commitments are in place.

• Created a forum for active physician engagement and leadership.

• Adopted standard quality measures for hospital and ambulatory care performance to help drive common targets for improvement, payment and reporting.

• Established performance measurement targets: diabetes, surgical site infection, generic drugs, heart attack and heart failure, and pneumonia.

• Developed and launched online Health Care Performance Reportscapturing hospital quality performance, a health plan report and physician organization report.  The Physician Organization Report is the first of its kind in Michigan. Go to www.myCareCompare.org.

• Completed groundwork for building infrastructure for long-term results.

• Launched several pilot programs and quality improvement initiatives — Diabetes/Blood Pressure Management Pilot, a Generic Drug Pilot to encourage generic prescribing by physicians and utilization by consumers, the Diabetes Self Management Education program for worksites, and Pneumonia CSI which shares best practices on hospital care for pneumonia.

• Implemented a consumer engagement strategy to engage and educate residents about performance reports and self-management of chronic diseases— informed consumers are informed employees.

SLSD Steering Committee and Results Improvement Team Leadership 

• Edward Wolking, senior vice president, Detroit Regional Chamber, Transitional Vice Chair
• Mike Slubowski, President of Health Networks, Trinity Health

Results Improvement Team (RITE)

• Jack Billi, University of Michigan
• Richard Frank, MD, HealthPlus of Michigan
• Steve Grant, MD, United Physicians, PC
• Paul Harkaway, MD, Huron Valley Physicians Association
• Mark Johnson, Beaumont Hospitals
• Deb O'Leary, Michigan American Diabetes Association
• Richard Lueders, DTE Energy
• Marsha Manning, General Motors
• Sue Moran, Michigan Department of Community Health
• Nancy Schlichting, Henry Ford Health System
• Philip Schloop, IUOE, Local 547
• Thomas Simmer, MD, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
• Mike Slubowski, Trinity Health
• Matthew Walsh, Health Alliance Plan
• Jack Weiner, Trinity Health System
• Edward Wolking, Detroit Regional Chamber