Associated Press

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota says a program to help one primary care doctor keep track of a patient's health information has been so successful that it's expanding.

"Its main component is an information system that will allow readily available information in the primary care physician's office about his patients with chronic conditions," said Dr. John Rice, the Blues chief medical officer.

Under the program, called MediQHome, a patient chooses a primary care doctor who keeps track of all that patient's health information, coordinates with other providers and becomes a single source of information about the patient's condition, the Blues say.

The program started as an experiment with Fargo's MeritCare Health System in 2005 that involved patients with diabetes

"We saw a 5 or 6 percent decrease in hospital admissions, and of course hospital care is expensive care compared to outpatient care," Rice said. "We did see emergency room visits decrease by 24 percent. This resulted in an overall savings of across the population that was studied of almost $500, for each one of the members studied per year."

Last fall, the program expanded to four Fargo MeritCare sites and included more chronic conditions, Blues officials said.

The program will be available to other health care providers across the state in January. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota is the state's largest insurer, serving about 53 percent of the state's population.

Health care providers in the program get access to patient-tracking technology that recommends treatments and allows them to track vaccinations and screenings for colon, cervical and breast cancer, Blues officials said.

The MediQHome providers will receive a care management fee for Blues members with pediatric asthma, adult or pediatric high blood pressure, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, coronary heart disease or chronic heart failure, the insurer said.

"MediQHome is being monitored and copied by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because of the results we've seen with this collaborative approach," MediQHome Director Petrice Balkan said in a statement.