Striving For Better Health Outcomes Through Public Health

Public health is not a new concept, but one that gained significant traction as a common household phrase during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As health leaders across the world worked to address the common threat of COVID-19, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst) knew that public health needed to be continuously prioritized with the ebbs and flows of an uncertain illness and beyond. The pandemic highlighted stark disparities in care and health outcomes. Our solution? Stand up a new public health infrastructure to find solutions to the health challenges our region faces.

Djinge Lindsay, MD, MPH, Director of Public Health at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst), spoke with WTOP News and discussed CareFirst’s public health infrastructure and efforts to address chronic illnesses and disparities in care through data and collaboration.

As a leading health insurer in the mid-Atlantic region, CareFirst has a unique role and ability to collaborate with local health systems to build initiatives and programs with an end-goal of creating better health outcomes. In this interview, Dr. Lindsay discusses topics such as:

• What CareFirst is doing to support public health
• The difference between ‘public health’ and ‘healthcare’
• What other organizations and industries can do to support public health