Care Alerts notify providers when an attributed patient has an emergency department visit or is admitted to or discharged from a hospital.

Physicians, nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, and physician assistants in the specialties listed below can subscribe to receive the following types of alerts about their patients: emergency room visit, hospital admission and/or hospital discharge. You can also select how messages are received (i.e., direct message*, secure email, and/or fax). 

Care Alerts include the admitting diagnosis, facility name, event type and date. There are two types of Care Alert notifications: 

• Care Alert notifications for all Blue Cross patients, including Blue Advantage 
• Care Alert notifications for Blue Advantage^® patients with multiple high-risk conditions  

Benefits of Receiving Care Alerts

• Patient care management is improved through:
  • Awareness of patient care received outside your office.
  • Opportunities identified to close gaps in patient care.
  • Better transition of care after hospital discharge.
• Primary Care Select Incentive Program 
  • Follow-Up After Emergency Department Visit for Mental Illness (7 days)
  • Follow-Up After Emergency Department Visit for Mental Illness (30 days)
  • Follow-Up After Emergency Department Visit for Alcohol and Other Drug Dependence (7 days)
  • Follow-Up After Emergency Department Visit for Alcohol and Other Drug Dependence (30 days)
• Blue Advantage Primary Care Incentive Program 
  • Medication Reconciliation Post-Discharge Measurement
  • Follow-Up After Emergency Department Visit for Patients With Multiple High-Risk Conditions (7 days)

Direct messaging is a technology standard required by the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC)-certified EMR solutions for the secure exchange of clinical information via the Internet.

Emergency Department Visit Insights for Care Alerts

Care Alert messages provide Emergency Department visit details to help providers identify utilization patterns and coordinate timely follow-up for patients. These messages include the total number of ED visits your patient has had in the past 12 months, along with diagnosis codes and facility details for each visit.

Sample Care Alerts Notification

ProviderAccess Administrators: Enroll Providers Online for Care Alerts

1. Log in to ProviderAccess.
2. Click "Users" in the upper right corner of the screen.
3. Select the tab labeled, "Care Alerts."

*Direct messages are similar to email but are delivered right to your electronic medical record (EMR) system securely and in near-real time. Contact your EH=MR vendor to obtain a Direct messaging address if you do not already have one.

Additional Resources:

Care Alerts – Bridging Gaps for Better Patient Outcomes