Blue Cross NC Tackles Substance Use Disorders with Investment in Shatterproof Rating System for Addiction Treatment Facilities

DURHAM, N.C. – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) is providing funding to enable Shatterproof, a national nonprofit dedicated to reversing the addiction crisis in America, to establish a quality measurement system for addiction treatment programs in North Carolina and nationally. The system will help give patients and families a way to identify high-quality treatment options for substance use disorders.

With assistance provided by the $330,000 in funding from Blue Cross NC, North Carolina will be the sixth state to begin implementation of the quality measurement system in 2019. The system, called ATLAS^TM, will include a web and application-based search platform for facility locations, standardized quality data and patient-reported feedback. The system is expected to launch in 2020.

“Patients and families have not had a reliable way to evaluate addiction treatment facilities, so when a person needs care, it is difficult to identify high-quality and effective programs,” said Kate Hobbs Knutson, MD, Chief of Behavioral Health at Blue Cross NC. “Shatterproof is working to fill that void by developing an innovative service to make addiction treatment quality information more transparent and useful. We look forward to working with Shatterproof to make quality information available to members, providers, referral sources, policymakers and other insurers.”

Currently, only one in 10 people with a substance use disorder receives treatment. For those who do receive care, it’s frequently delivered without evidence-based practices, resulting in poor outcomes and substantial costs for patients and families.[1]

“Standardizing transparency around the use of evidence-based best practices by addiction treatment programs will drive wholesale transformation of this health care sector,” said Samantha Arsenault, Vice President of National Treatment Quality Initiatives at Shatterproof. “Not only will this system educate the public and allow them to sort between high- and low-quality programs to identify care providers, it will serve as a tool to better direct technical assistance resources to support struggling treatment providers in the adoption of best practices and spur the alignment of market forces with care that is shown to improve patient outcomes.”  

Other states already participating in Shatterproof’s pilot are Delaware, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York and West Virginia.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina:

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) improves the health and well-being of our customers and communities by providing innovative health care products, services and information to more than 3.9 million members, including approximately 1.1 million served on behalf of other Blue Plans. Since 1933, we have worked to make North Carolina a better place to live through our support of community organizations, programs and events that promote good health. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Visit Blue Cross NC online at bluecrossnc.com. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

About Shatterproof:
Shatterproof is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the devastation the disease of addiction causes families. Shatterproof is focused on one specific, urgent goal: To transform America’s broken addiction treatment system. The organization is working to ensure every American with a substance use disorder has access to treatment based on proven research. Shatterproof advocates for changes to federal and state policy, payer reform, and provider ratings, and provides public education through family and workplace programs.

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