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UPMC Health Plan's STOP Program Is a Collaborative Success Story PITTSBRUGH (March 9, 2006) - UPMC Health Plan has seen its STOP program—which was created in 2000 to curb tobacco use by low-income pregnant women—grow into a program that promotes collaboration and health care innovation. The STOP program combines resources from UPMC Health Plan, Magee-Womens Hospital, and the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. As part of the program, STOP uses a device to measure the carbon monoxide levels of pregnant women. Recently, that device, used at the outpatient clinic of Magee-Womens Hospital, detected a high carbon-monoxide level in a woman from Wilkinsburg. The woman was a non-smoker; it was later determined that the high score was actually caused by a faulty furnace that emitted dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in her home. While those results were unconventional, using the monitor to gather important information is not. "Women in this program who want to quit smoking see the carbon-monoxide monitor as a real motivator," said Patricia Cluss, PhD, director of prevention and health outcomes for UPMC Health Plan. "That's why we've supported its use. We use it at the Magee clinics as part of women's check-ups, because their doctors can use the scores as a jumping-off point to talk about the dangers of smoking while pregnant." As part of the collaboration between UPMC Health Plan and Magee-Womens Hospital that has grown out of the STOP program, the Health Plan has developed a "concierge-style" program for expectant mothers who are also members of UPMC for You, the Medical Assistance program of UPMC Health Plan. As part of this program, UPMC Health Plan supplies a special care manager to work with UPMC for You members throughout their pregnancies as well as after they give birth, in an effort to anticipate their needs. This includes women whose babies are in the neonatal intensive care unit. "This program makes sure these women get the support services they need before and after the baby is born," said Dr. Cluss. "They get the care and attention they need early in their pregnancy, which is often when they need it most." In revised rankings recently released by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and U.S. News & World Report, the Health Plan ranked No. 1 in Pennsylvania. UPMC Health Plan also ranks first in the nation in the category of breast cancer screening. UPMC for You ranks No. 5 in the nation among Medicaid programs. "Programs like this one at Magee are part of the reason we have done well in NCQA rankings," said Diane P. Holder, president of UPMC Health Plan and the UPMC Insurance Services Division. "Our aggressive approach to preventive health care and our collaborative ventures involving providers, insurers and the academic resources of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center result in better care for our members."
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