14 Provider Tab

The Provider Tab allows you to add one or more vendors to the list of possible service providers for a plan. Adding providers to this list does not assign them to any tasks, but makes them available to do work within a plan. For information on maintaining service providers, see Maintaining Service Providers.

This tab allows you to designate the Primary Provider, to which outsourced tasks will be automatically assigned. These assignments can be changed using the Assignments Tab.

Provider Specific Details

This tab allows you to override default rates and responsibilities for service providers by clicking on the provider name from the list. The Provider Detail page dialog allows you to control provider assumptions, including:

• Rate Year in Effect

• Inflation Rates

• Project level discounts extended by this provider

• Back Office Billing Rate Location

• Currency Exchange Rates

• Project Management FTEs assigned by this provider

• Affiliates

• Meetings with this provider

• Who will manage the CTMS (Clinical Trial Management System) for the study

Working with Providers

The Provider Tab allows you to add and remove providers, as well as assign the primary provider and freeze billing rates.

Adding Providers

To add a provider:

1. Navigate to the Provider Tab.

2. Click the Add Provider(s) button to display the Choose Service Providers dialog box.

3. Select a provider.

4. Click OK.

   Selected providers are displayed on this screen and allow specification of investigator meeting attendance and other details. However, these providers and associated information will not become part of this plan until you have clicked Save or Next. Adding a provider to this screen does not automatically assign the provider to any tasks.

Removing Providers

To remove a provider:

1. Navigate to the Provider Tab.

2. Select a provider and click the Remove Provider button.

3. The provider is removed from the list. Providers selected are removed from the display, but they are not removed from the plan until you click Save or Next.

4. Click OK.

   Tasks that may have been previously assigned to a removed provider will be reassigned according to the following rule: If the task assignment has been made for subject data from a location whose assignments have been overridden, the task will be reassigned to the default provider for that location. Otherwise, the task will be reassigned to the provider specified as the primary provider.

Primary Providers

You can select a provider to be the default provider for tasks.

To select a primary provider:

1. Navigate to the Provider Tab.

2. Select a provider and click the Set as Primary Provider button.

3. The Primary Provider button will become grayed out.

   The primary provider is automatically assigned to tasks indicated as outsourced (by selecting the “Vendor” radio button for responsibilities on one or more of the other tabs). The primary provider also becomes assigned to any tasks assigned to a vendor who is later removed from the plan.

Replacing Providers

The Provider Tab allows you to replace providers with the Replace Provider button.

When you replace a provider, any resource, rate, or unit hours overrides, as well as provider-specific details, such as inflation, they are transferred to the newly chosen provider.

To replace a provider:

1. Navigate to the Provider Tab.

2. Select a provider and click the Replace Provider button. Choose a new provider and click OK. All of your current provider-level assumptions will be saved and the selected provider will be replaced with your new choice.

Freezing Billing Rates

The Provider Tab allows you to freeze billing rates for a selected provider.

To freeze billing rates:

1. Navigate to the Provider Tab.

2. Select one or more provider from the list and click the Freeze Billing Rates button.

3. The button will change to say “Unfreeze Billing Rates.”

   This button may read either “Freeze Billing Rates” or “Unfreeze Billing Rates” depending on whether rates are currently frozen for this plan.

   Clicking this button to freeze the rates for this plan copies the current rates for the current providers and stores them with this plan.

   Changes to these providers' billing rates will no longer impact this plan. If additional providers are added, their current rates will also be copied to this plan.

   When the button reads “Unfreeze Billing Rates,” rates have been frozen for this plan; clicking the button in this case deletes the copied rates and uses the current rates for the providers to calculate costs for this plan. Changes to providers billing rates will be reflected in this plan.