South Carolina BlueCross Wins National Award for Online Precertification

Columbia, S.C. - BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina won a bronze World Wide Web Health Award for its online precertification, a feature on the company's Web sites that allows hospitals and physicians a quicker, simpler way to obtain authorizations.The World Wide Web Health Awards recognize the best health-related Web sites for consumers and professionals. The Health Information Resource Center (HIRC), a national clearinghouse for consumer health information programs and materials, organizes the program.

BlueCross launched its online precertifications in May last year. Previously doctors' offices submitted these requests by phone or facsimile. Now they can go to the secure My Insurance Manager section of http://www.southcarolinablues.com/ or http://www.bluechoicesc.com/ and enter the specific member's identifying information, some required clinical information, then identify a location where they are seeking to send the patient and click "submit."

"Well over 45% of our precertification requests are being received through the Internet now. That's phenomenal market adoption in under 10 months," says David Boucher, assistant vice president of health care services. Boucher credits much of this early success with the fact that providers were involved in the development of this enhancement.

Source: BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina