OREANDA-NEWS. November 21, 2012. Western Growers Assurance Trust, the largest provider of health benefits for the agricultural industry, has selected McKesson VITAL Care Management software solutions to help coordinate health care for its participants. With McKesson’s sophisticated workflow and authorization software tools, Western Growers Assurance Trust will be able to improve medical team coordination and communication and help enable better care for its participants, and in turn reduce the financial burden on the health care system, reported the press-centre of McKesson.

Western Growers Assurance Trust will use the McKesson VITAL Platform, which is scalable, automated software that seamlessly integrates case, disease and utilization management; InterQual® Coordinated Care Content to enable blended assessments and create the participant-level care plan; identification and stratification services to help accurately identify the health needs of participants and offer targeted interventions that best improve health outcomes; and InterQual® Criteria to provide evidence-based medical reviews with CareEnhance® Review Manager to automate the review process.

The integration of this technology will allow Western Growers Assurance Trust’s care managers to keep a comprehensive database of a participant’s medical history, including assessments, procedures, tests, lab results and medications. Through the McKesson VITAL Provider Portal, the care manager will be able to share that information with the participant’s providers, which flags gaps in care and improves care coordination and communication among the medical team. Western Growers Assurance Trust will also use the McKesson VITAL Consumer Portal, which gives participants access to an educational health library, personal health record, and health and wellness tools.

“The care management software from McKesson provides us with critical capabilities to serve our participants’ health care needs and improve their clinical outcomes, while reducing unnecessary costs and improving administrative efficiencies,” said Western Growers Sr. Vice President David Zanze. “The people we serve will receive optimal coordinated care, and as a result, better health.”

By coordinating patient data and information, identifying gaps in care and engaging participants and providers, McKesson VITAL Care Management allows Western Growers Assurance Trust to ensure that their participants are receiving the right evidence-based care at the correct time and place. “As a result, unnecessary emergency room visits and hospital admissions will decrease, and patients will be better able to self-manage chronic conditions,” explained Naoise Colgan, VP, Care Management Solutions at McKesson. “This leads to medical and administrative cost savings and healthier individuals.”

For more information on McKesson Health Solutions, please visit our Web site, hear from our experts at MHSdialogue, follow us on Twitter at @McKesson_MHS, or join our LinkedIn group.

About McKesson
McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 14th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. We partner with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that deliver better care to patients in every setting. McKesson helps its customers improve their financial, operational, and clinical performance with solutions that include pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management, healthcare information technology, and business and clinical services. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com.

About Western Growers Assurance Trust
Western Growers Assurance Trust is an organization rich in history, based on the fundamental mission of our parent company, Western Growers, to enhance the competitiveness and profitability of our members. Founded in 1957 to provide a solution to a need in the ag community –health benefits that were not available from major health insurance carriers—today we continue to deliver value to our members. WGAT is a nonprofit organization. For more than 50 years, Western Growers Assurance Trust has existed solely to serve our members. We are more than a health benefits provider. We are a member-driven organization that cares about the health and well-being of the ag community. For more information, visit www.wgat.com.