Blue Cross, hospitals launch blood clot prevention study

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Care Network, the University of Michigan Medical Center and 16 other hospitals will begin a quality improvement study in October to reduce risk of blood clots in hospitalized patients.

Blood clots – also known as venous thromboembolism – affect an estimated 900,000 people in the U.S. each year, resulting in several hundred thousand hospitalizations and about 300,000 deaths, said Blue Cross in a statement.

Blue Cross also estimates reducing blood clots could cut health costs $5 million over five years.