Home-based care providers face many challenges and must balance mobile patient care with changing regulations and payer requirements. The more agencies can improve operations in these areas, the better. That’s where home care software can make a difference.
With the right technology, agencies can integrate departments and simplify communication. The result is easier patient and staff scheduling, fewer noncompliance risks, and better performance and productivity.
Home-based care comes with extensive regulations where mistakes and noncompliance can be costly. An intuitive home care software helps agencies mitigate compliance risks with automated workflows and standardized processes across the enterprise.
Once established, workflows reduce repetitive tasks and automatically trigger the next correct step, ensuring providers capture data, integrate with other professionals, or seek approval where necessary. These safeguards help agencies control and prevent errors across many departments, leading to higher efficiencies and lower costs.
Plus, with redundant admin tasks down, agencies can improve staff workloads and lower workplace frustration and burnout. Software updates automatically incorporate regulatory changes without undergoing substantial training or adjustments, so providers have more time to focus on patients.
An integrated system keeps electronic medical records in one place and provides an overall progression of a patient’s health over time. Rather than navigating clunky paper records or electronic records in multiple locations, home care software consolidates data and access points.
Home-based care providers can record details of each patient encounter and keep the team informed of changes in mobility, vitals, medical status, or any other care requirements. Providers can search records and find test results, abnormal values, specialist referrals, doctor’s orders, and more. The result is greater visibility and insight into patient health, greater ability to act on information, and better patient outcomes.
Home care software can also transform agency management by integrating healthcare solutions and patient records with billing and clinical operations tools. For example, Homecare Homebase is striving to ease agency management burdens through offerings like HCHB Smart Scheduling, which allows organizations to automate visit scheduling while taking continuity of care and clinical capacity into account. Schedulers are empowered to make the most out of available staff and ensure patients receive home-based care without disruption.
Many agencies are seeking to create efficiencies by outsourcing back office functions like revenue cycle management (RCM). However, this can be especially tricky in the home care space since many RCM contractors struggle to understand complex compliance and payor requirements. EHR providers like Homecare Homebase have recognized these challenges and created offerings like HCHB Revenue Cycle Services to simplify billing and collections.
Revenue cycle experts can help with everything from authorizations and individual payer requirements to billing processes, coding, denials and appeals. They verify that each step is done correctly and at the right time, leading to faster payments and fewer claim denials.
As home care industry adopts more value-based care arrangements, it is becoming even more vital for agencies to have operational and clinical data at their fingertips. Agencies can monitor productivity and performance with software analytics and gain deep insight into the impact on care quality and profits. They can set custom benchmarks and screen for potential inefficiencies and areas of improvement.
Agencies face significant pressure while managing a mobile workforce in largely uncontrollable home settings. Regulations and payer requirements constantly shift and can create instability in unprepared organizations.
Home care software like Homecare Homebase can help agencies gain insight, compliance, and efficiency while driving better patient outcomes. Learn how to streamline home care management with Homecare Homebase. Request a demo today.