Milliman Care Guidelines® Now Used in More Than 1,000 Hospitals

SEATTLE, Dec. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 1,000 hospitals now use Milliman Care Guidelines® evidence-based clinical guidelines and software to drive quality patient care.  The number of Care Guidelines hospital clients has grown ten-fold in eight years.  

This hospital-sector growth is consistent with an industry-wide shift to the Care Guidelines -- now used by more than 1,800 clients, including seven of the eight largest US health plans and 25 CMS audit contractors.  A recent contract gives all Fiscal Intermediaries (FIs), Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) and Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) Care Guidelines access for CMS healthcare audits.

Hospitals use the Care Guidelines to help identify and reduce variances from best practice, and to document appropriate evidence-based levels of care to improve care quality and efficiency.  Care Guidelines tools, including "look-ahead" care pathways with recovery milestones, help healthcare providers track patient progress, plan effective discharge and care transitions, and prevent avoidable readmissions.  The Care Guidelines products also include information handouts explaining care plans to patients and families, along with clinical education tools to help providers discuss healthcare issues with families.

Clients value the Care Guidelines products for their rigorous evidence-based development, and the ease of access to annually updated medical evidence that defines best clinical practice.  By making the evidence -- including quality measures such as those from the Hospital Quality Alliance -- accessible within healthcare workflows, the Care Guidelines help clients to improve care quality and to easily document efficient use of medical resources.

About Milliman Care Guidelines

Milliman Care Guidelines, LLC, A Milliman Company, is located in Seattle, and independently develops and produces evidence-based clinical guidelines and software used to support the care management of a majority of Americans.  The seven-product Care Guidelines series -- Ambulatory Care, Inpatient and Surgical Care, General Recovery Guidelines, Recovery Facility Care, Home Care, Chronic Care Guidelines and Behavioral Health Guidelines -- is accessible through interactive software, and covers the continuum of care with contents that are updated annually by an experienced team of clinicians.  For more information, visit www.careguidelines.com.

About Milliman

Milliman Care Guidelines is a wholly owned subsidiary of Milliman, Inc., which is among the world's largest independent actuarial and consulting firms.  Founded in Seattle in 1947 as Milliman & Robertson, the company now has 54 offices in key locations worldwide.  Milliman employs more than 2,400 people.  The firm has consulting practices in healthcare, employee benefits, property and casualty insurance, life insurance and financial services.  Milliman serves the full spectrum of business, financial, government, union, education and nonprofit organizations.  For more information, visit www.milliman.com.

SOURCE Milliman Care Guidelines