Blueprint - Summer 2022

a
Word
with Curtis Barnett
Our President and Chief Executive Officer
Innovation in Healthcare:
A Reason to be Optimistic
As we emerge from the pandemic,
the stakes in healthcare have
never been higher. For people
suffering with physical health
issues like obesity and chronic
health conditions, undiagnosed
and untreated behavioral health
disorders and unmet social
needs or health disparities due
to geography, race, or ethnicity,
COVID-19 exposed those who
were already vulnerable and
often made them worse.
Healthcare is undergoing a
dramatic transformation. It is
reeling from workforces and
infrastructures that have been
battered over the past two years –
and the health of those we serve is
more fragile because of it.
We are in desperate need of new
and better approaches.
Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue
Shield is committed to advancing
a system that benefits individuals
and families who need affordable
coverage and patients who need
high-quality care. To accelerate our
progress toward these goals, we
have embraced innovation. New
consumer-focused tools, like the
new Blueprint Portal (featured on
pages 4 and 5 of this publication),
provide a more personalized and
convenient consumer experience
that, over time, will empower
better health.
“Arkansas Blue Cross and
Blue Shield is committed
to advancing a system
that benefits individuals
and families who need
affordable health coverage
and patients who need
high-quality care.”
To successfully innovate, you
often need to develop and test
new ideas locally and then scale
them to a wider market. We
have dedicated space in our new
Northwest Arkansas Corporate
Center as a hub for innovations
designed to improve the
healthcare system. We call it the
“Blueprint Innovation Lab.”
We expect it to serve as a
catalyst for building meaningful
connections between the people
doing the innovative work in
Arkansas and across the United
States and for inspiring and
igniting new ideas. It is a place
where customers, healthcare
professionals and community
leaders can collaborate to
improve healthcare. Together
we are looking at ways to use
technology, research, and
data analytics to solve health
problems; we are investing
in and piloting health-related
businesses; and we are building a
culture of innovation.
There’s no question we are
living in a unique time. Our
better understanding of social
determinants of health, the
importance of behavioral health,
and the role genetics plays in our
overall health allows us to refocus
our efforts in the healthcare
system and bring in new clinical
techniques and new technologies.
And with almost everyone owning
a smart device these days, it all
needs to be easy to access
and understand.
The convergence of these
and other factors fills me with
optimism that our healthcare
future holds great promise.
A new and better approach is,
indeed, possible.
2 SUMMER 2022