Be a Voice in Health Care Evolution

Did you know that Highmark Health's VITAL program provides support for studies designed to accelerate the adoption of novel medical technologies into the standard of care?  

Launched in 2015, the VITAL program was designed to provide the missing link between FDA approval of a new technology and its full reimbursement by commercial insurers. It has already accelerated significant care enhancements, including:

• The LINX® Reflux Management System for treating patients with gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) -- featured in current Living Proof campaign.
• The HeartFlow® non-invasive diagnostic technology that offers physicians insight into both the extent of a patient's coronary arterial blockage and the impact the blockage has on blood flow.

VITAL's overall goal is to make new technologies and services available through commercial insurers to the public sooner. Through VITAL:

• Participants get access to innovative, safe technologies that can help them, before these procedures are approved for coverage, without a high out-of-pocket cost
• Highmark Health can more quickly understand the full impact of new technologies, procedures and protocols on patient outcomes and overall costs of care. This will accelerate the adoption of formal changes to insurers' medical policies.
• Technology vendors and specialist providers can prove the benefits of their new innovations to patients and health plans

As one of the largest integrated delivery and financing systems, Highmark Health is poised to drive innovation and discover new interventions that will improve the experience, access, outcomes, and affordability of health care. Effective deployment of new solutions could drive better care at lower cost.

Without support from commercial payers, it is difficult for innovations to influence the practice of medicine. VITAL provides a test bed designed to facilitate early use of interventions that have demonstrated safety and efficacy and have received regulatory approval, but are not yet covered by most commercial insurers. VITAL is designed to provide the missing link between regulatory approval of an innovative intervention and its full reimbursement.

We are seeking novel interventions that have received regulatory approval (eg. FDA) that lack sufficient scientific data to convince commercial insurers to pay for them. Click here to learn more today!