1. Improve agency collaboration
Effective web based software provides home health care organizations the ability to collaborate in real-time from anywhere at anytime. Clinical and administrative staff have access to real-time information regarding all agency activities and and can make decisions faster and more accurately. The complete availability of a patient’s medical record enables a team of clinicians and agency leaders to review, direct, manage and influence patient’s care and achieve expected outcomes positively. All members of the multi-disciplinary team can review pertinent information and revise care provided to patients accordingly. With the convenience of being able to work from anywhere at any time, home health agencies are empowered to better participate in patient care activities. With real-time access to reports, agency staff can view trends and exchange messages on strategies to enhance coordination of care and services. The result is a more efficient team with the ability to provide immediate responses and positive outcomes which translates into happy patients.
2. Improve Compliance
Documentation errors remain one of the most difficult problems that home health and hospice agencies face. By streamlining the flow of necessary documentation and providing staff access to standardized forms and templates, agencies can drastically improve the quality of medical records amongst other aspects of their operations. By using web-based software, all documentation (especially clinical) can be reviewed for compliance and quality assurance purposes in real-time as they are submitted. Policy and procedure information can be easily disseminated to agency employees to increase their knowledge, improve their confidence and improve overall compliance. Data that is well organized, easily retrievable and always available can provide an agency with the ability to function efficiently and effectively without increased stress or effort. During regulatory surveys, home health and hospice agencies can easily retrieve information as requested by the surveyors A web-based software solution helps keep home health agencies organized and that can make a huge difference in presentation during regulatory surveys.
3. Decrease cost
Increased fiscal challenges in the Home care industry mandates that providers become more efficient and provide services in a cost effective manner. The reimbursement changes in the healthcare industry make it imperative for home health and hospice agencies to adopt solutions that will increase productivity, increase efficiency, maintain compliance, empower staff and reduce costs. Adopting electronic medical records is part of the answer to these challenges and is an important way for home health and hospice agencies to prepare and ensure success with all the new and proposed changes in the healthcare industry. Home health and hospice agencies must learn how to cut cost without compromising quality. Clinicians receiving schedules and patient information via a software system cuts down on commute time and expense to the office. The ability to exchange communication between administrative, clinical and clerical staff cuts down on duplication and reduces documentation errors. Arrangement of work flow and systems around a point of care system enables staff to complete tasks faster and more accurately, thereby freeing up time to perform other revenue generating activities for providers. In addition, a web-based software eliminates the need for home health and hospice agencies to maintain expensive computer servers, networks, maintenance or IT support thereby reducing IT costs.
4. Improved Agency Supervision
Home health and hospice agency leaders have a “bird’s eye view” of an agency “in real-time and are therefore empowered to make accurate decisions”. With access to reports in real-time, agency leaders can effectively supervise and monitor their agency’s activities from anywhere at any time. With an effective point of care system, clinical managers can oversee patient care and collaborate with all members of the multi-diciplinary team to ensure patients are receiving accurate, effective care and that a physician’s plan of care is successful. While providing more autonomy, a web-based software provides improved opportunities for field staff to collaborate effectively with case managers and administrative staff and receive the support they need to effectively meet their patient’s needs. In today’s ever changing climate an all-inclusive point of care system can provide an agency the tools needed in order to provide quality care and still survive.
5. Increase revenue
With all the efficiencies and savings provided by using web-based software, home health and hospice agencies can commit more resources to efforts that will increase quality and attract more referring physicians and patients. This will increase revenue and marketability. Using web-based electronic medical records with a point of care solution reduces the need for agencies to hire additional clerical or administrative staff because field staff can effectively submit their notes in real time and much of the work performed by data entry personnel is eliminated. The right web-based software will provide the ability for providers to bill multiple insurance companies, thereby opening up new growth opportunities despite the ongoing and proposed reimbursement cutbacks in the health care industry.
