A Partnership That Fits

How MetaStar Supports Omnicell’s URAC Data Validation 

The strongest business-customer relationships often have one thing in common: they reduce friction. Communication is clear. Roles are understood. Problems are addressed before they become emergencies. The work still matters, and the stakes remain high, but the process itself feels like a steady journey to a shared goal. 

That is how Anne Nelson, Senior Manager of Clinical Services and Accreditation in Omnicell’s Outpatient Pharmacy Services, describes Omnicell’s work with MetaStar. When asked what stands out about the relationship, Nelson returned to words such as “welcoming,” “adaptable,” and “dependable.” For a process like URAC data validation, dependability and flexibility matter. 

The Right Fit at The Right Time

Omnicell is a leading healthcare technology provider focused on empowering autonomous medication management. As part of the company’s comprehensive portfolio of inpatient and outpatient solutions, Omnicell supports specialty pharmacy growth by helping health systems, pharmacies, university health centers, and provider groups create or optimize specialty pharmacies.

Nelson oversees accreditation work for Omnicell-supported specialty pharmacies located within health systems across the United States. She helps pharmacies receive and maintain dual accreditation from URAC and the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC), while also working in quality auditing and incident review.

“This role is centered on ongoing monitoring,” Nelson explained, “enabling early detection of risks and timely course correction to maintain performance standards.” 

Omnicell contracts with MetaStar for URAC data validation. When Nelson joined Omnicell three years ago, the relationship was already in place for three pharmacies. Since then, with Nelson’s help, that work has expanded. 

A Foundation Built on Trust

Nelson said one of the first things she appreciated about MetaStar was the organization’s experience and ease of collaboration. 

“The contracting team is transparent in their communication, and the process is seamless. They demonstrate a high level of expertise,” Nelson said. That reliability became especially important earlier this year, when two pharmacies under Nelson’s purview planned to use a different validation vendor. As the URAC season approached, that vendor was removed from the list of acceptable data validation vendors.  

Nelson immediately contacted MetaStar. 

“It was great to be able to say to the sites we manage, ‘Don’t worry, we’ve got this. Let me reach out to MetaStar,’” she said. 

Within weeks, both pharmacies were moving through MetaStar’s contracting process, allowing the sites to begin their data validation season with minimal delays. Nelson described MetaStar as both accommodating and adaptable throughout the situation. 

“Working with MetaStar has been nothing but a collaborative relationship and a positive experience,” Nelson said. 

Less Friction, More Focus

For both Omnicell and MetaStar, the work ultimately connects back to patient care. Data validation is essential, but it should not pull pharmacists away from the people they serve. 

“We never want to distract them from taking care of the patient,” Nelson said. “It’s apparent during our work with MetaStar that we all understand the primary focus is the patient.” 

Nelson credits MetaStar’s clear timelines, proactive reminders, regular check-ins, and quick response times with making the process easier to manage. Scheduling is efficient, conversations stay focused, and pharmacy staff do not have to block off hours or days for measurement-related tasks. Responsibilities are clear, interruptions are limited, and validated data is submitted to URAC on schedule. 

Those efficiencies help Nelson manage validation work for multiple locations without adding unnecessary burden to pharmacy teams. 

“There were never any concerns about starting the process on time,” Nelson said. “By the time the URAC validation comes around each year, we’re set.” 

Familiar Footing 

Nelson said MetaStar’s approach felt supportive from the beginning. Although she had worked on URAC accreditation in a previous role, that experience involved one site. At Omnicell, she was managing three. 

“Right from the beginning, MetaStar was welcoming,” Nelson said. The MetaStar data validators assigned to Omnicell were “welcoming, transparent, and helped me to understand MetaStar’s process.” 

Nelson describes MetaStar’s URAC data validators as competent, accommodating, and calm. She recalled a question involving the formula used to calculate a turnaround time. Two formulas were being used, resulting in slightly different answers. Anyone who has taken part in URAC data validation or similar exercises knows “slightly different formulas” can mean inaccurate data and chaos trying to figure out where it came from. “MetaStar’s team reviewed the issue internally, reached a decision quickly, and communicated the correct approach to Omnicell.  

Nelson appreciated both the clarity and the speed of the response. “They quickly find solutions to keep things moving forward,” she said. “Not everything feels like a code red emergency.” 

Omnicell now works with one MetaStar data validator, Jennifer Lenz. 

“She’s one of our best,” said Ross Gatzke, practice leader for URAC and IVA in MetaStar’s Performance Measurement Department. “She’s like an ambassador to Omnicell.” 

Nelson agreed, citing Lenz’s efficiency, adaptability, and ability to help new Omnicell employees feel comfortable with URAC and MetaStar’s processes. “Jennifer is so good at being able to talk to and educate the clients and keep everybody energized,” Nelson said. 

Nelson also values MetaStar’s practice of assigning the same reviewer or reviewers to organizations year after year. That continuity saves time and builds trust. “Having the same validator every year saves us time. We don’t have to explain how we work to a new person,” Nelson said. “I can put Omnicell clients at ease, saying, ‘It’s Jennifer, the same person from last year.’  She has the baseline knowledge.” 

A Portal Built for Clarity

MetaStar’s proprietary SOC 2 Type 2®-certified web portal gives customers a secure place to upload, exchange, and review data. Customers can also run and view reports and track progress for a specific program, site, or file. 

Nelson described the portal as “efficient and user-friendly, which is instrumental.” She said it is especially valuable when managing multiple sites.  

“Each site has its own dedicated space; the labels are set, and the questions we need to answer are set. It’s all there and it’s all organized,” she said.   

For Omnicell, the portal helps keep data secure and organized while removing administrative burden from individual pharmacies. Nelson and her central accreditation team can manage much of the data work that would otherwise fall to each site. 

“We are not able to bring everyone in and have a giant meeting because they’re all individually owned pharmacies,” Nelson explained. “That’s part of the efficiency MetaStar brings to the customers it works with.” 

A Partnership Built to Move Forward

Gatzke described the relationship between MetaStar and Omnicell as mutually beneficial. “Omnicell seems to be growing, and it’s been great to grow alongside them,” he said.  

Hearing Nelson’s feedback was meaningful, especially because Omnicell has worked with MetaStar for multiple years and brings deep expertise to the process. 

“Hearing it being described by a specific customer, especially one that we’ve been working with for multiple years now, and who we value as an expert in the space, it’s validating,” Gatzke said. 

When a process depends on emails, phone calls, virtual meetings, and data submissions, it can be easy to focus only on tasks and deadlines. Behind each step are people asking questions, providing updates, solving problems, and making sure the work is completed accurately and on time. 

“We know how much work everyone puts into this process, and it’s good to hear that we’re able to make the processes as efficient for them as possible and to make it an effective submission process as well,” Gatzke said. 

For Omnicell, MetaStar’s value lies not only in accurate URAC data validation but also in a process that is organized, responsive, and dependable. For MetaStar, that is the goal of every customer relationship: to make important work easier to manage without losing sight of the people and patients at the center of it. 

  

Starring…

Anne Nelson, PharmD, also known as Omnicell’s “Accreditation Maestra,” is originally from Wisconsin and went to pharmacy school at Midwestern University. After moving to northern California, she worked in retail; in a skilled nursing facility; at a large chain specialty pharmacy working in HIV and infectious diseases; and at a startup where she developed her experience in accreditation, compliance, and quality improvement. She currently lives in San Francisco with her husband and their Bernedoodle, Knox.  

Ross Gatzke is the URAC Practice Leader at MetaStar and has been with the company for eleven years. He has a BA in history and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MS in health care informatics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He lives in Madison and enjoys cycling, fishing, and grilling and eating food. 

Kate Schultz is a freelance writer who also works as a standardized patient (medical actor) for UW’s School of Medicine and Public Health. She has formerly worked as a stage manager, a high school English and theater teacher, and a software tester at a large electronic medical record company. She volunteers for a cat rescue center and lives in Madison with her husband and their cat, Bruce.