Proactive Account Management: Five Key Attributes to Look for in a 340B Administrator
An effective 340B Administrator should serve as a valuable resource, providing expertise, analytics and high-quality customer service. Here are five key attributes to consider in selecting a 340B Administrator.
1. Account Manager Relationship
Proactive account management is the first step in optimizing 340B Program savings and recognizing opportunities to improve or enhance your program, shorten time to implement, and help ensure ongoing program compliance. Each Covered Entity (CE) enrolled in the 340B Program has unique attributes – they may be urban, rural or care for distinct populations such as HIV centers. Each is a vital resource in the healthcare delivery system within its community.
The 340B Program is complex and beyond successful implementation, requires ongoing and accurate prescription validation, as well as compliance and reporting. Even though the elements are global, the process must be highly customized to meet the specific CEs needs, from selection of retail and specialty pharmacy networks to navigation of complex data challenges. Third-party administrators (TPAs) can help CEs navigate the program’s complexity. Having an account manager who knows the program well and understands the CEs unique needs is key to advancing your objectives and optimizing your program. This includes proactive, high-touch, personalized support, and a strong ongoing relationship.
The account manager should also provide hands-on training for new technology and processes. This ensures successful knowledge transfer and allows your staff to ask questions, mitigate risk by addressing issues before they arise, and learn to optimize information gathering and reporting. A successful 340B administrator should be a close partner who helps you set goals, provides insights based on experience, and offers regular, proactive updates about configurations and expansion opportunities.
Your account management team is not proactive if they only communicate with you to either sell you new products and services, or in reaction to a problem or issue, such as an audit.
2. Analytics and Insights
340B Administration is highly technical and regulatory guidelines for the industry are not clearly defined. The keys to optimizing the program are clearly documented configurations and processes, and transaction level detail and analytics to support audit and opportunity identification. Your 340B Account Manager should understand your program and goals, and be able to deliver structured analysis and insight to ensure a well-controlled program. The team should also be able to share insight about best practices and industry benchmarks to help CEs navigate a complex regulatory framework. Your Account Manager should help you optimize reporting and analytics use of your program reports and analytics.
The Account Manager should also take the lead on continuous program improvement and support audit protocols, and be the collaborative partner who helps drive success for the CEs.
3. Change Requests
Programmatic changes such as adding a new hospital, changing the pharmacy network, or making software enhancements need rapid response from your 340B Administrator for successful implementation. A responsive, knowledgeable Account Manager, a direct line of communication with your 340B Administrator, and clearly defined parameters about expected turnaround time are essential to quickly get answers and avoid potential issues.
4. Executive Availability
A good 340B Administrator should be client-focused, not product-focused, and understand that a high-quality customer service and a good customer relationship are essential to success. Your Administrator should ensure that senior executives are available to meet with clients, offer strategic input, and solicit direct feedback, to help drive continuous technological and performance improvement.
5. Audit Acumen
As the 340B program continues to grow, and as part of the overall drive toward greater transparency in government programs, regulatory oversight is likely to continue to increase. 340B Administrators should have best-in-class discipline to support CEs in ensuring program compliance. Effective Account Management includes a proactive approach to establishing policies and procedures, and audit protocols to help ensure that the CE is always prepared for a potential HRSA audit. Audit preparation should start at implementation and in early phase of program operations, with the setting up of training, tools, and processes for compliance. Ongoing business reviews of program reporting with your Account Management Team can help to identify potential issues before they escalate. A shaky compliance foundation is a failure of the 340B Administrator’s Account Manager.
While ensuring HRSA compliance is ultimately the CEs responsibility, your 340B Administrator should be a partner in compliance monitoring, offering the tools and expertise needed to successfully pass HRSA audits.
Wellpartner’s Account Management Approach
At Wellpartner each customer relationship begins with a designated Account Manager, who develops, executes, and monitors a customized plan to help ensure a seamless implementation. All implementations are conducted in-person at the customer’s location, and include initial training on technology to give CE staff hands-on experience.
CEs have direct access to the Account Manager, who responds to all calls within one business day. If additional time is needed to resolve the issue, the Account Manager maintains ongoing communication with the client in the interim. CEs also have contact lists for key departments including legal, pharmacy and technology. Customers are welcome – and encouraged – to contact a member of the senior management team with any questions or concerns.
Account Managers evaluate each program on an ongoing basis and contact clients to share program suggestions or concerns. They provide a comprehensive program review during account meetings, including performance across several important areas such as finance (revenue and savings), wholesaler relationships, operations, communications and marketing, customer service, contract pharmacy performance, qualified 340B claims volume and carve-in rate, and true-up costs. They also help CEs identify additional savings opportunities, minimize risk, and streamline processes.