Information on VUMC's contracted managed care plans goes on-line
The team responsible for VUMC's new managed care web site includes (from left) Ken Wittman, Devon Biere, Mary Lou Hartman and Vickie Proctor. Photo by Donna Jones Bailey.
Detailed, up-to-date information on Vanderbilt University Medical Center's broad array of contracted managed care plans is now available on-line.
Through Vanderbilt Health Services' new Managed Care Information Station (MCIS), clinical and administrative staff can quickly access the latest information on the medical center's contracted managed care plans. The MCIS is located on the intranet site available exclusively to those on the Vanderbilt network at <A href="http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/mcis/">http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/mcis/</A>.
"Everyone with patient contact and contact with insurers can use this. It's very helpful, because there are different regulations for each payor," said Mary Lou Hartman, R.N., manager of provider and payor relations for VHS.
Navigating the myriad rules and regulations and keeping up with the latest changes for every one of VUMC's contracted managed care plans is a daunting task for faculty and staff. This new web site is designed to give those dealing with patients and payors an additional reference tool, one that will boost efficiency and benefit patients, said Hartman.
"It's hard keeping up with books that are outdated almost as quickly as they are printed. This is part of our ongoing efforts to create and utilize as many means of communication as possible," she said.
Information on the MCIS is updated weekly and contains detailed and useful information on contracted managed care plans, including:
€ Plan summaries ‹ Summaries include pertinent telephone numbers, color images of sample identification cards, and authorization and referral procedures and formulary requirements. Plan summaries are created by the VHS Provider Relations and Education department using materials provided by the plans.
€ Managed care news bulletins ‹ Bulletins contain updates, contract correspondence and inservice notices and are posted at the beginning of each week for a limited amount of time and then are transferred to an archive section.
€ Quick contacts ‹ Direct access to precertification and eligibility phone numbers.
€ Managed care references ‹ Contains education materials and miscellaneous managed care information such as TennCare and TriCare maps, addresses and phone numbers, and a comprehensive glossary of managed care terms.
The VHS team responsible for creating and maintaining the new web site includes Hartman Devon Biere, Vickie Proctor, Teresa Scott and Ken Wittman.
The new web site was designed with ease of use in mind to ensure that it would be of value to the greatest number of people.
"We tried to make this as easy to navigate as possible," said Biere. "The information involved is so complex and changes so rapidly, that we have tried really hard to keep it simple. Some people are a little shy about using the web, but it doesn't get much easier than point-and-click."
On Jan. 1, the new web site became the exclusive source of information on VUMC's contracted managed care plans. The VHS team is currently conducting training sessions on using the web site and has established a help desk, where faculty and staff can call with questions.
"Our goal with training is, if people will give us 30 minutes, they can be experts," Hartman said.
An open house to showcase the MCIS will be held on Jan. 28 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in 528 Light Hall.