A Blue Cross Blue Shield cardiology collaborative in Michigan, designed to improve care and outcomes for heart patients, is celebrating two decades of existence.

Called the Blue Cross Blue Shield Cardiovascular Consortium (BMC2), the group was created in 1997. It began as a collaboration between five hospitals in Michigan, but now includes all non-federal hospitals in the state, according to a press release from Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan Medicine, one of the health systems involved in the group.

“We are able to compare outcomes and processes across hospitals to openly explore what is working well and where institutions can learn from each other,” said Hitinder Gurm, MD, a University of Michigan Medicine interventional cardiologist who leads BMC2 and runs the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) registry, in a statement. “Our goal is to create a culture of safety, reduce complications, improve appropriateness and share best practices so that all patients across the state will benefit.”

Over the years, the collaboration has proven it improves outcomes at the facilities involved. There was a 41 percent decrease in post-procedure blood transfusions and a 10 percent decrease in kidney complications. Additionally, data from BMC2 has resulted in 65 studies and many presentations at major medical meetings.

“The BMC2 initiative has provided an incredibly strong foundation for hospitals throughout the state to collaborate and adopt best practices that improve the care and outcomes of PCI patients,” said Simon Dixon, MD, interventional cardiologist, chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Beaumont Health in Royal Oak, Michigan, in a statement. “BMC2 has set a high bar for quality that is frankly the envy of other states throughout the U.S.”