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January – February 2021
7 questions with Dr. James Grant
 In the June 2020 special edition of Hospital and Physician Update, we let you know that James Grant, M.D., had been named senior vice president and chief medical officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. We spoke with him recently to get his input on several key topics.
1. Before joining Blue Cross, you were an anesthesiologist. How do you think this will affect your perspective in your current job?
Anesthesiologists have a window into the entire acute care process, not just what occurs in an operating room. We’re involved in issues ranging from when a patient enters the hospital and length of hospital stay to critical care, perioperative care and pain control to overall patient satisfaction. So, I think my experience provides me with a unique perspective on quality, affordable care and how to enable physicians to deliver great outcomes.
2. What direction do you see us going with the Physician Group Incentive Program?
PGIP is a nationally known, successful program. We want to see it continue to grow and to build on its strong foundation. We’ve already seen examples of how PGIP can support providers through COVID-related challenges. Next-generation patient care will depend on a base of engaged physician partners. And PGIP provides that strong foundation for continued growth.
3. What do you think we can do to build even stronger provider partnerships?
We’d like health care providers to know that we consider their patients to be our patients. We don’t see our relationship with providers as simply a provider-payer relationship but a partnership relationship. We want to work together with physicians, nurses, hospitals and the entire team to create a better, healthier Michigan.
4. I understand you’re working closely with Health Care Value and other business units to enhance quality in health care. How might this affect Blue Cross participating providers?
As the chief medical officer, I need to be cognizant of the effect of clinical issues on functions throughout our entire enterprise. Our team here supports the clinical needs of the organization as well as the needs of our customers and members as we work together with health care providers to improve quality. Collaborating with Health Care Value allows specialized clinical leadership to work in tandem with operational leadership to produce comprehensive strategies that address many of the complex, emerging health care issues of our time.
5. Health care providers and members have increasingly used telemedicine during the pandemic. Where do you see telemedicine going in the future?
The COVID-19 pandemic has really opened the door for us to take a closer look at telemedicine — and it’s good that we’re exploring all that telemedicine has to offer. While telemedicine will never replace the human touch, it will increase access to care for many of our members. (For more on telemedicine, see the column from Dr. Gretchen Goltz, also in this issue.)
6. I understand that Blue Cross recently established the Office of Health and Health Care Disparities, building on the work of the Health Disparities Action Team. What can you tell us about that?
We’re currently working to find ways to address health care disparities in Michigan. Because we have strong provider partnerships, we can engage the entire health care community in ways other carriers can’t in order to drive meaningful change for underrepresented and under-engaged communities. One important step we took recently was to roll out implicit bias education to providers through PGIP. We also posted a blog on mibluesperspectives.com on the topic of understanding implicit bias in health care. (For more information on health care disparities, see the article on addressing health care disparities, also in this issue.)
7. What will be your three main areas of focus for 2021?
My three priorities are health care quality and member experience, health care innovation and helping to position our Blue Cross partners to meet the challenges of the future.
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