UPMC Named Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care

PITTSBURGH, January 9, 2007 UPMC has been named a Blue Distinction Center SM for Cardiac Care for 2007. Blue Distinction is the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Associations (BCBSA) nationwide program that will create an unprecedented level of quality transparency with two goals: engaging consumers to enable more informed health care decisions and collaborating with physicians and hospitals to improve quality outcomes and affordability. A key component of Blue Distinction is a specialty center program that offers the best practices and standards of care in cardiac care.

The process used to select Blue Distinction Centers SM is based on clinical data supplied by hospitals. Each facility's structure, processes and care outcomes are rigorously evaluated. The criteria for designation include nationally endorsed quality measures, developed in collaboration with medical experts and professional organizations, placing great value on research and evidence-based health and medical information.

The program demonstrates the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Associations commitment to working with doctors and hospitals in communities across the country to identify leading institutions that meet clinically validated quality standards and deliver better outcomes in patient care.

The criteria for becoming a Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care SM include:

• The hospital must be a full-service accredited inpatient hospital facility.

• The hospital must perform a required volume of percutaneous coronary interventions and coronary artery bypass graft surgeries and provide a full range of services including inpatient cardiac care and cardiac rehabilitation.

• The hospital must retain a sub-specialty board certification for its cardiac team.

• The hospital must demonstrate ongoing quality management and improvement programs.

• The hospital must track cardiac care processes and outcomes for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, percutaneous coronary interventions and coronary artery bypass graft surgery including evaluation of complication and mortality rates.

For more information about cardiac care at UPMC, call 1-800-533-UPMC or visit us at www.upmc.com . For more information about Blue Distinction Centers, visit the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Web site at www.bcbs.com .

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is the largest integrated health care enterprise in Pennsylvania and one of the leading nonprofit health systems in the country. It is the only organization that has earned honor roll status in both U.S. News & World Reports 2006 Americas Best Hospitals and Americas Best Health Plans rankings. Widely recognized for its innovations in patient care, research, technology and health care management, UPMC has transformed the economic landscape in western Pennsylvania. The regions largest employer, with 43,000 employees and nearly $6 billion in revenue, UPMC comprises 19 tertiary, specialty and community hospitals, 400 outpatient sites and doctors offices, retirement and long-term care facilities, an insurance plan, and commercial and international ventures.