VBA User Conference – Location Announced!
Mark your calendar for VBA’s 3rd Annual Connect and Engage User Conference, which will be held on August 21-23, 2023 at the Milwaukee Marriott Downtown. We will have a discounted room rate, so please wait to book your travel arrangements. Watch for an invitation with registration details coming to your inbox soon. We hope you can join us!
Product Market Strategy and Sales
From the desk of Jessica Lockhart – EVP of Sales & Marketing and Product Strategy
First, Happy New Year. Welcome to the Q1 edition of the VBA Client Quarterly Newsletter. I have lots of exciting product updates to share with you, including some important news about the VBAMobile transition, so let’s get started.
The Future of VBAGateway
Thank you to everyone who attended our webinar on February 16 where we discussed the future of VBAGateway and provided a sneak peek of the new look and the user experience for the member portal. If you were not able to attend, you can view the full recording here on the Client Resource Center.
Here are some key takeaways from the webinar:
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Phase I of the redesign helped VBA establish templates for client branding, font, iconography and appropriate use of color to stay within useability guidelines.
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Phase II will build upon the Phase I design efforts and include a new layout for navigating the portal and a complete regrouping of information and functionality.
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Once the member portal redesign is complete, VBA will begin the effort of redesigning the other portals, starting with the provider portal.
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Our ultimate goal is to put more control over the user experience in your hands.
VBAMobile Native App Sunsets on May 1, 2023
Speaking of the VBAGateway member portal, don’t forget that VBA went ‘progressive’ with our VBAMobile Progressive Web App as of January 2023. For those of you who purchased the VBAMobile native app, we will be sunsetting the native app effective May 1, 2023. This means your app will no longer be supported via the Apple and Android App stores. Instead, your members will be able to launch the App via a link from the VBAGateway landing page.
If you have not already implemented your VBAMobile Progressive Web App, please contact your dedicated Account Executive to get this process started as soon as possible. The implementation of the app follows our standard release cycle, so make sure you get your request and supporting implementation items to your Account Executive before the release feature approval date. Refer to the VBAMobile PWA Client Reference Guide available on the Client Resource Center to learn more about the information needed to implement your VBAMobile Progressive Web App.
Interested in learning more about VBAMobile? Contact your dedicated Account Executive to schedule a demo.
Using VBAnalytics to Win New Business
A big thank you to Michelle Bounce, President and co-owner of J.P. Farley, who helped kick off VBA’s 2023 Best Practices Webinar series. For those of you who missed it, Michelle shared how her organization uses VBAnalytics to:
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Win new business
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Strengthen J.P Farley’s broker relationships
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Support conversations with clients about plan performance
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Provide members with recommendations when seeking quality care
We appreciate Michelle taking the time to showcase the power of the value-based reporting, featuring quality scores from Quantros, that is available in VBAnalytics. You can view the webinar recording here.
NOW AVAILABLE: Mental Health Reporting and Cohort Analysis
In case you missed it in the release notes, mental health reporting is now available in VBAnalytics. Similar to the chronic conditions report, the mental health report tracks members of your population who are struggling with mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, dementia and eating disorders and are seeking care. The report also cross-references the chronic conditions report for insight into those members who have been diagnosed and are being treated for both mental health and one or more chronic conditions.
We also added the ability for users to build and trend member cohorts using our cohort analysis tool. Click here to see this this tool in action.
Both the mental health report and cohort analysis are available as part of the VBAnalytics standard reporting package.
Communicate with Your Clients via Text and Email Using VBAVoice Notifications
VBAVoice Notifications is our newest solution used to help our clients notify their constituents about key events. This low-cost solution delivers high value by keeping end users engaged with critical updates and things that need their attention. Check out our VBAVoice Notifications flyer and video tutorial to learn why this is a “must-have” solution.
VBA to Showcase Our Clients in 2023 Webinars
VBA’s 2023 Best Practices Webinar Series will showcase VBA Clients and how they are using VBA solutions to help support current business and win new business. If you would like to be part of our webinar series by sharing your experience with your peers in the market at a future Best Practices Webinar, please contact me directly at jlockhart@vbasoftware.com.
April’s Best Practices Webinar Features Edison Health Solutions
This leads me to our next Best Practices Webinar on April 12, 2023, featuring Jared Delacerda, Vice President of Operations at Edison Health Solutions. Jared will share how his organization uses VBAVoice IVR to support their Customer Service staffing model. Click here to register for this webinar.
And in closing…
Did You Hear the Rumor? VBA has a New Website!
It’s true! VBASoftware and VBAGateway aren’t the only solutions getting a facelift. VBA is excited to introduce and launch our new website. It includes use cases and quotes from our clients, and lots of information on how “We make the healthcare experience better for everyone.” We hope you will take a few minutes to check it out at vbasoftware.com and tell us what you think.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming webinars this spring.
Operations
From the desk of Rachel Lanser – Chief Client Officer
I can’t believe it is the end of March already. Where does the time go? I hope you are all doing well and moving forward with your goals for the new year. I have some quick updates to share. First, I wanted to say that we are very excited about our new website that launched earlier this month. It really shows how we have grown and evolved as a company, and we are so excited to share that with you.
Also, I wanted to remind you of all the resources and support available to you as a VBA client. We want to help in any way we can, so please do not hesitate to take advantage of these resources.
Client Resource Center
Are you using the VBA Client Resource Center? There is so much information out there for you and your teams, including the latest release notes, product user guides, regulatory and industry news, client request forms and more. If you have a question, there is a search feature that will pull up all of the documents related to that specific topic.
Account Executives
Remember, if you have any questions about your VBA solutions or if you are having issues with any of them, please reach out to your Account Executive for assistance. They can help answer your question or direct you to the right place. If you don’t know who your VBA Account Executive is, please reach out to your dedicated support email address: <Company Name>.support@vbasoftware.com. We can help with whatever you need.
Training Videos
VBA is building out an indexed video training library for our products. These videos will provide clients with up-to-date training resources for their new hires and refreshers for existing team members. Be on the lookout for VBA product videos coming in Q3 2023.
Expanding the VBA Client Support Center
Speaking of resources, let’s talk about the Client Support Center. The center is an online destination where you can view your open features and incidents at VBA. We have received your feedback and are happy to announce the expansion of the field views within the VBA Client Support Center.
The Client Support Center allows you to follow the progress of each item as it is being worked on by your VBA team. Each item includes a ticket number, ticket name, workflow step and status. You can export a list of open items at any time to share with other team members.
Some of the recent updates include visibility to various date fields: requested date, created date, start date, last modified date, etc. We have also included fields that house key personnel for your features and incidents, along with a date-stamped running list of client weekly updates.
We currently have over 100 clients logging in and using the center. If you have been granted access and have not yet logged in but wish to, please reach out to your VBA Account Executive or Implementation Manager for assistance.
Watch Your Inbox for the User Conference Survey
As we start to think about our User Conference this August, we want to make sure we are presenting on the topics that are most important to our clients. Please watch for a survey coming to your inbox in the next few weeks where you can share your thoughts on the topics that are most important to you. We look forward to hearing your feedback!
Spring is just around the corner (at least that is what they tell us). Hope you are able to get out and start enjoying those beautiful spring days!
Did You Know?
Tips & Tricks from VBA
Did you know that you can upload documents to a specific population in seconds through the VBAGateway Administrator Portal, rather than going through VBA Support?
Using the functionality in the Administrator portal, you can update documents and push them out to the appropriate portal users. There are three different ways you can do this:
If you would like to send out an updated document that applies to all users of a portal, you can upload the document in the Administrator portal, then select the Portal Restricted Docs option and then select the appropriate portal (i.e., member, provider, broker or employer). That will push the updated document out to all users of the selected portal. This function is perfect for mass updates, like changes to your policies or procedures that all portal users would need to be aware of.
You can also update documents at a plan level. This is perfect for information such as Summary Plan Documents for a medical plan. In that case, you would upload the new document and select the Portal Restricted Docs option and then choose which plan the document applies to. All portal users assigned to that plan will receive the updated document.
Finally, you can update a document for a specific member. In that case, you would upload the new document and select the Individual Member/Subscriber Docs option and then choose which member the document applies to. Only that member would receive the updated document.
If you have any questions about this feature, please contact your VBA Account Executive for assistance.
Meet the Team
Professional History:
Shawn joined VBA in October 2021 and manages the integrity and relationships between VBA and its preferred partners. He brings over 10 years of consulting and healthcare technology experience.
For the last six years, he has exclusively focused on enhancing the member experience and the successful enablement of partner products for various healthcare SaaS solutions. Before joining the team, Shawn worked at Zipari, formerly Healthx, as Senior Manager of Client Support and a Partner Solution Analyst for over five years.
Shawn holds a B.A. in Communications from DePauw University and an MBA with a certificate in marketing from the University of Indianapolis School of Business.
Shawn Odle
Senior Manager of Channel Partnerships
On a Personal Note:
Outside of work, Shawn enjoys spending time with his wife and their son. Watching and coaching his son’s numerous sporting events (basketball, football, track and field, tennis) consumes the majority of his time away from the office. Shawn loves cooking and grilling for his family and friends, too.
Release Notes
Make sure to share our release notes and videos with your team members to ensure all VBA users are up to date.
January
February
January
February
January
February
January
As a reminder, VBA schedules up to 10 releases a year to ensure our clients have the latest software without the wait. You can access the release schedule here in the Client Resource Center.
Here are the planned release dates for 2023:
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March 31 – Client
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May 5 – VBA
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June 16 – Client
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July 21 – VBA
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August 25 – Client
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September 29 – VBA
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November 3 – Client
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December 8 – VBA
Upcoming Conferences and Events
We will be participating in the following events:
March 27-28, 2023
SPBA Spring Meeting
Washington, DC
March 29-31, 2023
SIIA Spring Forum
Orlando, FL
April 17-21, 2023
HIMSS
Chicago, IL
Here We Grow Again!
Promotions
Application Services Team
Ian Noble –
Software Development Manager, Engagement Solutions
Client Experience Team
Jennie Marquardt –
Solution Consultant, Support
Integration Services Team
Sharri Seffens –
Manager of Data Integration
New Hires
Client Experience Team
Lauryn Deck –
Solution Consultant, Support
Peter Leannah –
Solution Consultant, Trainer
CarlieDane Livingston –
Solution Consultant, Trainer
Lana Lopez-Ibanez –
Solution Consultant, Trainer
Finance and Accounting Team
Siraj Shakir –
Senior Accountant
Integration Services Team
Jasmyne McIver –
Data Integration Analyst
Katharine (Carver) Nightingale –
Data Integration Analyst
Sales and Marketing Team
Robin Dale –
Events Coordinator
Jay Hammond –
Senior Sales Executive
Support Services Team
Sedriana Euell –
Client Support Specialist
Ben Hatfield –
Operations Support Specialist
Katrina Pegues –
Client Support Specialist
Webinars
VBA Application Release Reviews
We held our January Release Review on Friday, January 27, 2023. If you were unable to attend, the recorded session can be found here.
We held our February Release Review on Friday, March 3, 2023. If you were unable to attend, the recorded session can be found here.
VBA Webinars
The Future of VBAGateway clients-only webinar on February 16, 2023, featuring Jessica Lockhart. If you were unable to attend, the recorded session can be found here.
Putting Words into Action: How Analytics Provides Real Savings for TPAs and Self-Funded Plans on February 28, 2023, featuring Michelle Bounce of J.P. Farley Corporation. If you were unable to attend, the recorded session can be found here.
Q1 2023 VBA Regulatory Roundtable on March 15, 2023, featuring John Barlament. If you were unable to attend, the recorded session can be found here.
Staying Connected: How VBAVoice IVR Can Support Your Customer Care Team and Keep Your Customers Happy on April 12 at 2 p.m. ET. Presented by: Jessica Lockhart, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at VBA and Jared Delacerda, Vice President of Operations at Edison Health Solutions. You can register here.
Holiday Schedule
The VBA offices will be closed on the following days in observance of the following holidays:
Friday, April 7 – Good Friday
Monday, May 29 – Memorial Day
Tell us what you think!
Your opinion is important to us so we can continue to enhance our products and improve your experience.
Ready to share?
Send your feedback to suggestionbox@vbasoftware.com.
Thanks for reading this edition of the VBA Newsletter.
Stay tuned for next quarter’s newsletter.