Craneware Furthers Commitment to Helping Hospitals and Health Systems

ATLANTA - Dec. 5, 2016 - PRLog -- Craneware Furthers Commitment to Helping Hospitals and Health Systems
Better Manage Drug Costs

Enhancements to Pharmacy ChargeLink enable provider organizations
to achieve improved cost management and pricing transparency

ATLANTA, December 5, 2016 (ASHP Booth #1422) – With the variability and ever-rising cost of pharmaceuticals, forward-thinking hospitals and health systems are leveraging technology to track and manage drug prices for optimal reimbursement. To further meet this growing need as well as provide more transparency in today's consumer-driven healthcare environment, Craneware, Inc., the healthcare market leader in automated value cycle solutions, today announced enhancements to its Pharmacy ChargeLink^® solution. These enhancements will enable users to:

- Analyze cost reconciliation based on margin impact

- Manage drugs costs to evaluate annualized impacts for leading HIS system formularies

- Evaluate purchase dispense cost compared to formulary dispense cost to more effectively manage cost variances

- Compare multiple cost benchmarks against changing drug costs to measure financial impact

- Monitor drugs purchased through GPO, WAC or 340B

"Because medication costs encompass the majority of our of health system's budget and drug prices continue to increase faster than other healthcare expenditures, drug costs are a constant target for cost containment initiatives," said Paul Zosa, senior analyst chargemaster at NorthBay Healthcare, a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network (http://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic/care-network). "Working with Craneware, Pharmacy ChargeLink has allowed our teams to proactively manage drug costs, ensure we are compliant with 340B drug purchases, and strategically provide audit and guidance on both cost management and reimbursement accuracy. Having visibility into our data allows us to make sure that what we bill is accurate and in turn allows us to better trust our data."

Pharmacy ChargeLink automatically validates all pharmacy data, giving stakeholder departments a shared platform to ensure administered medications are accurately coded, billed, and reimbursed at an optimal level. By continuously updating and synching purchase history, formulary, chargemaster and regulatory reference information, Pharmacy ChargeLink helps hospitals and health systems address revenue gaps, and ensure optimal reimbursement and compliance.

"Today, the cost of drugs and related supplies changes minute to minute, and there is no conceivable way for provider organizations to keep track of all of these changes without technology," said Kathy Schwartz, Craneware AVP of strategic messaging and solutions owner. "That's why Craneware has partnered with our clients to provide them with the most intuitive and comprehensive tools to manage pricing fluctuations. This means provider organizations can spend less time tracking down costs and more time focused on delivering high quality care."

To learn more about Craneware's Pharmacy ChargeLink or see a demo of the solution, please visit Craneware's booth #1422 at the American Society for Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) 2016 Midyear Clinical Meeting (http://connect.ashp.org/midyear/home?ssopc=1).

About Craneware
Craneware (AIM: CRW.L) is the market leader in software and supporting services that help healthcare providers improve margins so they can invest in quality patient outcomes. The company's flagship solution, Chargemaster Toolkit®, has earned the KLAS No.1 ranking in Revenue Cycle – Chargemaster Management since 2006 and is part of our value cycle management suite, which includes Patient Engagement, Charge Capture & Pricing, Coding Integrity, Revenue Recovery & Retention, and Cost Analytics solutions. Learn more at craneware.com.