Value, 2008

Humana, Inc.

July 2008

Humana, Inc., uses U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations as a preventive health resource for its provider community. Humana also uses AHRQ Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) on a regular basis as benchmarks for quality across the country.

"We considered many preventive health resources. Our Corporate Quality Committee determined that Task Force recommendations should be placed at the top of our evidence-based resources hierarchy," says Steve Goldberg, MD, MBA, Humana's Corporate Medical Director, Clinical Policy.

The Task Force preventive health recommendations are posted on Humana's provider Web site as a reference tool for the company's some 450,000 providers across the country. Site visitors can go to the Provider area from the Humana.com home page, then select Provider Tools > Clinical & Healthcare Resources > Clinical Practice Guidelines > Preventive Care. This links to the AHRQ page showing the Guide to Clinical Preventive Services 2007 Recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. The site has another AHRQ link to the Task Force recommendation: Screening for Obesity in Adults, also found by selecting Clinical Practice Guidelines. (http://www.humana.com/providers/tools/provider_tools/clinical_practice.asp)

Humana also uses the AHRQ PSIs as a regular component of the company's Quality Improvement Process. "We conduct regular audits in several markets based on the AHRQ PSIs," Goldberg notes.

In addition, Goldberg adds, Humana reviews AHRQ products regularly to take advantage of any new research and tools the company might use.

Humana offers group health insurance and a range of products and services. Its business units serve the military, individuals, seniors, and others. Humana's headquarters are in Louisville, Kentucky. The company insures over 11 million people and is the nation's second-largest provider of Medicare benefits.

Impact Case Study Identifier: Multi-Center 08-02 (CDOM, CP3)
AHRQ-Sponsored Activity: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)
AHRQ Product: Healthcare Cost & Utilization Project—Patient Safety Indicators (HCUP-PSIs)
Topic(s): Prevention, Quality, Policy
Scope: National

Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, 2005: Recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. AHRQ Publication No. 05-0570, June 2005. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD.

Patient Safety Indicators. AHRQ Quality Indicators. March 2007. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.qualityindicators.ahrq.gov

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