BATON ROUGE, La. – Today is National Doctors Day, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana recognizes and celebrates the 13 physicians who are part of the insurer’s clinical and leadership team.
“Many people think an insurer only focuses on paying claims, but Blue Cross has a very involved, robust clinical team who work every day to improve the health and lives of our members and all Louisianians,” said Dr. Deirdre Barfield, Blue Cross senior medical director and vice president, Medical Management.
Blue Cross physicians work across the company in many areas, including at the highest level of the organization. President and CEO I. Steven Udvarhelyi and Executive Vice President, Health Services Stephanie Mills are both physicians.
Eleven other physician medical directors work with departments across the company and have medical degrees in a wide range of specialties, from geriatrics to pediatrics. They have worked in hospitals, small practices, emergency rooms and nonprofit health centers. In addition to physicians, Blue Cross employs nurses, dietitians, social workers and pharmacists as part of its in-house clinical team.
Blue Cross also works with physicians around Louisiana, as nine out of 10 doctors in the state are in the insurer’s networks.
“Blue Cross physicians draw on our combined experiences to lead and develop initiatives that improve health outcomes, promote safety and keep costs in line,” Dr. Barfield said. “That experience also helps us collaborate effectively with our network providers to deliver quality care to our shared customers – our members, their patients.”
Visit the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana YouTube channel to see short videos featuring Blue Cross medical directors discussing various health topics. Subscribe to know when new videos are added. Follow Blue Cross on social media @BCBSLA. Blue Cross posts regularly on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is committed to our mission to improve the health and lives of Louisianians. Founded in New Orleans in 1934, we are a tax-paying nonprofit health insurer with offices in every major region to serve our customers. We have been recognized for the past three years as an honoree of The Civic 50, named by Points of Light as one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. We are a private mutual company, owned by our policyholders, with an independent Louisiana Board of Directors and no shareholders. We invite all Louisianians to visit our website at www.bcbsla.com or talk to us on social media.
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