The UnitedHealth Premium^® designation programs helps you choose the right doctor or facility for you.

Not all health care is equal. According to a 2006 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, adults receive the recommended medical treatment only 55 percent of the time*. To address the quality difference in health care, UnitedHealthcare^® developed the UnitedHealth Premium® designation program to recognize doctors and specialty centers that meet guidelines for providing quality and cost efficient care.

The UnitedHealth Premium physician designation program uses national industry, evidence-based clinical guidelines for its quality of care designation and local market benchmarks for its cost efficiency designation. Doctors who meet the criteria for quality of care receive one star and those who meet cost efficiency and quality standards receive two stars.

	Quality of Care: These doctors meet the criteria for quality of care based on evidence-based medical standards and practices from medical organizations and governmental agencies such as the Ambulatory Care Quality Alliance, the National Committee for Quality Assurance and the American College of Cardiology, plus scientific advisory boards.
	Quality and Cost Efficiency of Care: These doctors meet the criteria for quality of care based on evidence-based medical standards and practices as well as the local market benchmarks for providing cost-efficient care.

The UnitedHealth Premium specialty center program recognizes specialty centers for their commitment to quality health care in the following areas:

• Cardiac Care
• Congenital Heart Disease
• Infertility
• Neonatology
• Spine Surgery
• Total Joint Replacement

It designates specialty centers on two criteria: quality of care and cost efficiency. Specialty Centers can receive from one to three stars on quality. If the facility meets the quality criteria, it will then be evaluated for cost efficiency and identified as “higher efficiency,” “average efficiency” or “lower efficiency” in addition to their quality designation.

Start your search for quality health care today by using the UnitedHealth Premium program at myuhc.com^®. Or, for more information about the UnitedHealth Premium program, visit MyChoiceNotChance.com.

*Asch, Steven M. et al. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2006 March 16; 354: 1147-1156.