ATLANTA - Via Christi Health, the largest healthcare provider in Kansas, is expanding its relationship with MedAssets to achieve optimal financial improvement and drive cost reductions on physician preference items (PPI) through the company's Clinical Cost Management consulting capabilities. Through the agreement, MedAssets' experts will work with Via Christi Health's physicians to engage them in the change process to dramatically reduce costs on PPI across service lines without impacting the quality of care provided. Via Christi is also expanding its use of MedAssets Charge Integrity solutions to improve revenue capture and compliance within its revenue cycle.

Via Christi Health currently uses MedAssets' Strategic Information (SI) tool to improve supply chain purchasing compliance and identify savings opportunities. The expanded spend management agreement includes the implementation of Service Line Analytics, a Web-based tool that links reimbursement, supply cost, supply utilization, clinical factors and other resource utilization data to identify and manage clinical and supply expenses through actionable analytics.

Via Christi Health, a MedAssets customer since 2007, will also deploy MedAssets' CDM Master®, KnowledgeSource® and CCA® solutions at all of its facilities to increase charge and coding compliance and revenue capture. The health system also recently implemented Hap-X, a solution provided through a MedAssets partner that functions as a Web-based electronic fund transfer system to directly connect healthcare providers and suppliers. Hap-X benefits healthcare providers by streamlining the settlement of invoices, improving cash on hand, increasing working capital and providing opportunities for rebates and early payment discounts from suppliers.

Via Christi Health is headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, and serves Kansas and Northeast Oklahoma through its doctors, hospitals, senior villages and health services. Its total net revenue for 2009 was $989 million.

"Reducing the cost of healthcare is a shared concern among Americans. In a complex health system with hospitals, outpatient and home medical services and senior living communities, realizing efficiency can be a challenge," said David Hadley, senior vice president, Finance, and chief financial officer at Via Christi Health. "MedAssets knowledge of supply chain best practices will help us reduce costs across our service lines."

"As costs rise and reimbursement rates become tighter, healthcare providers like Via Christi Health are looking to identify and eliminate all unnecessary costs, and engaging every stakeholder in the cost-reduction process is imperative in driving sustainable savings," said Rand Ballard, MedAssets' chief operating officer and chief customer officer. "Our company looks forward to helping Via Christi Health collaborate with its physicians to uncover cost-savings opportunities along with optimizing their revenue cycle to capture more net revenue."

About Via Christi Health
Via Christi Health www.via-christi.org, the largest provider of healthcare services in Kansas, is affiliated with the Marian Health System and Ascension Health. It serves the region through hospitals and outpatient centers, senior villages and services at home. VCH employs more than 9,000 in Kansas and northeast Oklahoma. In fiscal year 2009, VCH provided more than $78.1 million in community benefit, including care of persons who are poor, to the communities it serves in Kansas and northeast Oklahoma.