Vitalware: An all-encompassing, single-platform chargemaster solution

How do you help healthcare organizations navigate the biggest challenges in healthcare?

Today’s world is one in which healthcare financial, procedural and regulatory data grow more abundant, complex and interdependent every day. That’s why Vitalware built a solution that can consume all of a hospital’s charge data, without compromise — whether it is related to procedures, pharmacy, supply or something else. VitalCDM gives hospitals a single platform they can trust to manage their chargemaster without jumping into other systems or using one-off spreadsheets. Moreover, since our solution is web-based, any updates to the software or its HFMA Peer Reviewed reference libraries (VitalKnowledge) are available immediately, giving hospitals the confidence that their work is correct and up to date.

What advice would you offer to healthcare leaders when choosing among vendors?

First and foremost, look ahead… and in that same spirit, look around. We see many clients begin their search for solutions based on their most pressing issues. However, from our experience, mid-revenue cycle problems tend to get revealed in layers: Many clients begin with a narrowed focus and then find they have a whole new set of problems once their original issue is solved.

That’s why we urge every client to make sure solutions can consume all their chargemaster data, including multiple-fee schedules, as well as pharmacy, professional and ancillary files. No scrubbing routines or rogue spreadsheets allowed. The first step to realizing a Lean operation is providing total visibility across all data points and systems impacted by or impacting your chargemaster.

Having cloud-based reference libraries like VitalKnowledge is also important so updates can be pushed as they happen, rather than waiting in an IT queue. In addition, vendors should help you understand what transitioning to a new chargemaster system looks like, operationally. What’s the step-by-step plan? Can clients do it with little or no IT involvement? Ideally, they can.

We think pricing transparency changes the way consumers seek out services and will remap the marketplace. Hospitals that struggle with revenue operations, particularly with their chargemaster data, will struggle to achieve transparency, regardless of how competitive their pricing.

What is some advice you can give providers for a successful implementation of a new product or service?

Establish a line of sight across all key players in your mid-revenue cycle, from the patient to the provider. To do that, we recommend three key steps:

• Communicate with specificity to every involved team member about how their function will change, and how it will improve
• Involve key stakeholders in process design
• Test what has been created, adjust and test again

Vitalware solutions are designed to easily animate this testing and retesting workflow.

Quick Facts

• Number of years on the Short List: Vitalware has been peer reviewed since May 2015.
• 100% of respondents agree or strongly agree that they would recommend Vitalware’s products to a colleague

About Vitalware

Vitalware delivers modern SaaS solutions that consume and coordinate all your chargemaster data in a single, smartly integrated framework, offering a full suite of tools to enable hospitals to operate more transparently, price strategically, and confidently run a compliant and efficient revenue operation.