i3 was engaged by a Maryland-based, multi-facility health system to transform its 3 facility Chargemaster.
The result is more reliable pricing, reduced free text, improved control over active supplies, and better communication with the supplies department. The key focus area for this transformation were supplies which made up about approximately 20% of the Chargemaster but were traditionally difficult to manage, causing numerous downstream effects. Notably, a high percentage of free text had plagued OR departments for years.
The initial transformation included.
Identifying cost on all existing supplies
Identifying supplies no longer actively being used and deactivating
Verifying accuracy of charge builds on nearly 100,000 supplies
Creating markup formulas for each facility’s particular markups
Instituting build policies based on chargeable criteria
Designing and implementing “New Item Creation Process” to facilitate communication from supplies team to charge build team
Redesigning the Lawson => Cerner interface from a “many-to-one” relationship to a “one-to-one” relationship
One of the biggest challenges implementing this change was managing the transition from the supplies team coordinating build with OR team members on a “a la carte” basis to coordinating item creation with the charge build team for all chargeable items. Building all chargeable supplies required an increase in cost fidelity and a large increase in supply build volume, stressing the understaffed supplies department. The solution was not a technical one, rather a soft-skills approach to managing expectations and leading with empathy. The two teams were able to establish a working relationship based around accomplishing the actual job that required compromise on both sides. The result has been happier teams, and and a much swifter, more accurate build process.
Please contact i3 Healthcare Consulting for requests on similar projects.