Blues plans announce vast data-mining initiative

The nation's Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans unveiled a new information resource that captures their vast stores of claims information to provide health information. The program, Blue Health Intelligence, initially will offer reports based on the data to employers but in the future will expand services to consumers and providers, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association officials said. The program, now being pilot-tested, will be operational in 2007, they said. The health database includes information on about 79 million lives, making it by far the largest health database in the world. However, only participating Blues plans will have access to the aggregate data. Twenty Blues plans are participating so far. In a news release, officials touted the database as a national resource that "will strengthen the movement to greater healthcare transparency by ultimately providing unmatched detail about healthcare trends and best practices." -- by Cinda Becker