WEBINAR RECORDING

How Centralizing Operations Can Create Efficiency at Scale​

Growing agencies need to look at standardizing processes across their entire organization when thinking about expanding. Homecare Homebase and WorldView team up to talk about how centralizing operations brings transparency and automation to your agency so that you can optimize efficiently as you grow.  

WEBINAR TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to today's recorded webinar focusing on how centralizing operations can create efficiency at scale.

Today's recording is brought to you jointly by partners WorldView and Homecare Homebase.

For today's agenda, we wanna start with some quick introductions. I have with me, John Higginbotham, vice president of business development and clinical analyst. I am Jared Roby, and I am senior vice president of sales at WorldView.

For today's presentation, we are gonna go through an overview of home care home base, and then also an overview of WorldView.

From there, we're gonna get into our content regarding how centralizing operations can really grow your business and help your organization moving forward.

Who is Homecare Homebase

John, tell us a little bit more about Homecare Homebase.

Hey. Thanks, Jared. So Homecare Homebase, currently, we are the market share leader for both home health and hospice EHR solutions in the United States.

So all of the top ten largest providers on home health and eight of the top ten largest providers on hospice are using Homecare Homebase as their EHR solution.

Our patients that we serve daily are over seven hundred and fifty thousand.

Our scale is unparalleled. We're doing over a hundred million annual visits, being documented inside of our system. We have almost a hundred and thirty five thousand now field users operating in home care home base daily and around seventy thousand office users operating in home care home base. You can see the map where there are people, there is Homecare Homebase being utilized in the United States.

Who is WorldView

Jared, tell us a little bit about WorldView.

Yeah. Thanks, John. Those are some impressive numbers.

WorldView is is a very proud partner of Homecare Homebase. And for those of you who aren't familiar with our organization, we're a document process workflow and automation platform really built to create efficiencies, boost cash flow and facilitate growth for healthcare organizations. And so we're not just a basic coordination platform. We're not a fax management system.

It's really end to end, you know, from intake process to the completion of care. Our platform provides tools to organize, track and automate documents and data processing, allowing your agency to focus on the bigger picture. And so the way I like to introduce us, in the most part is kind of that middleman between a home care home base and all of the external parties that you're sending and receiving documentation from. And we're kind of that efficiency hub sitting in the middle.

We really focus on, you know, three core principles, one being strong partnerships. We have an outstanding partnership with, home care home base that was recently, elevated and really what we're trying to do together is make sure that our mutual clients, get the most bang for their buck as it relates to our services, add as much efficiency and automation as we can and make sure that our joint customers are are very successful in their operations.

We also have broader offerings. So as it relates to today's conversation, we're talking about, you know, referrals and medical record processing in the the EHR documentation. But our system is actually enterprise wide. So for the entire organization, every department, system is actually enterprise wide. So for the entire organization, every department within, an agency.

And last but not least, we have a a solid focus on on service. If you're like me, I wanna make sure that if I have a question about the technology I'm using, I'm getting a quick response. And I think that's really where we shine in our, partnership with Homecare Homebase.

Standardize

And so, really, now that we've done introductions, what we wanna get into is that centralized model. But there's some steps that come before that. And so what I wanna talk about to begin with, John, is really standardizing processes. And and I I wanna get your take to begin with. What does standardizing processes really mean in your mind?

For our customers and and really, I would say for most organizations, it's really about having an operational model that is is scalable.

So I know who's doing what at what time. So my processes are embedded into who's doing what at what time. And so at the end of the day, I know that this process will not fail. So I never have to worry that my AR is uncollectible.

I never have to worry that I'm outside of compliance.

I never have to worry that my documentation standard is not met. So from my perspective, it's really about operationalizing your organization so that standardization just comes naturally.

Yeah. Good good point. And, you know, from my perspective, I think what you're kinda saying is you need those standard operating procedures and and how things are being processed, whether that's in your EHR or any of the potential vendor partners that you work with. And, you know, in our system, what we typically see is, you know, more in a decentralized model.

Everybody kind of has a way that just works for them. And there's not a lot of consistency there. Right? So that makes it difficult for leadership to understand what's going on on that individual branch level.

And it gives them, not really a clear picture. No visibility of understanding where those bottlenecks might be or who's doing well, who's not doing well. And so from our perspective, it's all about getting everything in one system, an integrated system like WorldView is with home care home base to make sure that the documentation is visible and really anybody has access to that and you're setting those standard workflows.

That really helps with not only the visibility that I mentioned, but also compliance and then also onboarding and training of new individuals. So as they come on board, everything is set in stone. There's a a standard process, and there's no variables as to how I need to complete my job. Would you agree, John?

Yeah. Absolutely. And I would say the focus should be more about the mission of your organization that will impact your margins. I I have a saying that people plus, process equals profits, and that needs to be the focus. And the way that you do that realistically is standardizing your processes and and creating an operational model that scales. So a thousand percent agree with you.

Great feedback. Great feedback. Well, we know that standardizing process is kind of that first step before we can really get to a centralized model, and that's kind of what we're focused on for today. And so I'm gonna transition slides here real quick.

Centralize

And, you know, as we start to talk about centralized, and centralizing process, John, in in your world, in the home care home based world, what does that mean, and and what considerations do an agency need to have when they're looking at, making a transition like this?

Well, you have to have a good grasp on your core current organization. So I think that's why standardization is so important at the beginning because you have to know who does what, who does what, when, why, how.

And then you're able to figure out maybe what things maybe it's a lot of your, business units can centralize.

But it's why we have seen in the industry a lot of outsourcing of certain business units at organizations. So whether it's coding, whether it's revenue cycle, e some people are even outsourcing QA.

Some people are outsourcing intake and scheduling.

So these are some things that you can start focusing on. If you can outsource it, then you can centralize it. And that's the goal that we need to be thinking about is what is the most cost efficient and what is the most efficient from a process perspective when we're talking about centralization. I would say the the biggest impact that I see is the command. I have better command. I have what I think of a top down oversight, and I have coordination. I believe that coordination of care and coordination of outcomes can be significantly improved with centralization because instead of having a lot of people at a lot of different locations looking at a lot of different processes, right, now I have certain people hyper focused on one area that are focusing the exact same standards to every single location that you have.

For me, it it takes all of the the focus on vision like the slide says. It really impacts you from a a oversight perspective. And for from our perspective, we've been seeing, this move, like I said, of centralization. Whether that means outsourcing or not, there's a focus on putting efficiency at scale.

Yeah. And I John, I think you said it perfectly, from my perspective.

The thing that comes to mind when I when I think of centralization and and how we've helped organizations kind of make that switch, especially, you know, large multi site organizations that are wanting to go to a centralized model. You really have that focus on specialization. And so in a decentralized model, generally, you might have one or two individuals responsible for, you know, intake orders, medical records, really anything that's flowing in and out of the EMR.

And when you convert to that centralized model, you have specialization, you have a dedicated intake team, you have a dedicated orders team, and really that helps your organization be extremely efficient, but also build, really strong relationships. And so as you start to make that transition to a centralized model, there's some things that you have to consider. Right? So it was decentralized.

Everybody's managing their own individual branches, location and their workload. So we might need to, do some additional training, right? Make sure that people are aware of what folks are responsible at the are responsible for at those, particular branches and and what relationships they have with physicians. Are there any nuances to their process that they have to understand to really work with folks the best way?

I think the second piece of that is really making sure you are implementing technology, you know, beyond just what is your basic workflow as far as how things are flowing in and out of your organization and you're handling your processes. But what technology are you implementing to automate certain tasks? And that's where, you know, WorldView can step in and make sure that people aren't doing the manual clicks. They're not having to do manual follow-up workflow is in place to automate a lot of those mundane tasks and we want to make sure that as we're going to a centralized model and potentially looking at fewer individuals focused on that work, that we have technology taking on the work that those users were ultimately responsible for previously.

So I don't know if you have any additional thoughts on that, John.

Yeah. I really liked your point around the specialization.

I think that can't be stated hard enough. And I think of it like a closing pitcher.

If a closing pitcher is having to focus on being a middle relief pitcher or a starting pitcher, then the way that they work, the way that they train, the way that they flow is fundamentally different. Right? But if I'm just focusing on closing the the game out, it changes the way that I look at the world. Right? It changes the way that I train. And so that's exactly what I would say. It's this hyperfocus on specialization allows me to be more efficient at scale.

I also couldn't agree with you more about leveraging technology. I think we're right at this, mountain top of of do I lean on technology, or do I just put people in process in place to fix things that technology, that I'm scared for technology to take over?

And I think because of the margins and because of the Medicare Advantage wave that's coming and that's here, you have to focus on efficiency by using technology.

So joint partnerships like ours are significantly important, But even utilizing newer technology like AI and machine learning and things that automate workflows like WorldView has, I think it's really important to, again, create efficiency at scale. So I know exactly what's being done by who, when, why, and how, so I can grow the right way.

Yes. Yes. Absolutely. And process change is always difficult. It's it's scary, especially implementing a technology.

And so working with partners that, you know, maybe have all the bells and whistles, but have a path for you to get from, you know, phase one to all of those bells and whistles and, you know, levers that they can turn on to help you through that transition as you continue to move forward is extremely important.

Optimize

And it kind of brings us to our next slide and and really final talking point, as it relates to centralization, and that's being able to optimize those processes. And so, John, in your opinion, what is what is optimizing mean after you've converted to that centralized model?

Optimization is is taking a look back and making sure you didn't see any inefficiencies at scale once you centralized.

So what we have done is at Homecare Homebasis, we've identified that there is opportunity for, decreased FTEs at scale with centralization.

So you can kind of see on this model at a census level what we've identified as centralized staff.

If I had the same amount of patients and we did not centralize how much staff would be expected. And so what is the savings that you can anticipate with the sixty thousand dollar per FTE, calculation?

So from our perspective, again, bringing everything into the middle, into sort of that corporate headquarters and centralizing even if it means a regional centralization.

So maybe I have, national and I have West Coast, South, Midwest, and East. Right? And I I want to regionalize, but still centralize in those regions. Perfect.

You can still see some savings in that sort of centralization model.

Because what I'm doing is when we build a staffing model, we look at a, not a full FTE, I would say. And so if I don't have a full FTE, can that be rolled into other positions, or does it need to be a full FTE? And I think that's where the debate goes.

As if I have more than point one. Right? Should it be another FTE? But in our opinion, no.

It doesn't need to be until you get to where the workload is really, becoming a a stranglehold on an organization. So we the optimization piece here, really, really important to our organizations.

It's really important to organizations who are fighting, obviously, margin pressure, which is everyone. It's really important to our private equity backed organizations who are looking to buy and sell and borrow and spend off of their existing EBITDA.

It's this is very, very important. As as we all know, staffing is the most expensive cost in, in health care. So what can we do to scale efficiently and optimize that as we go forward with a centralized model? So, Jared, get what what are your thoughts?

Yeah. So I'm in line with everything that you're saying. And so when we talk about optimization, it it's really just assessing, right, and seeing where there are more improvements that we can make. And, that's where we've really helped a lot of organizations as they move to a centralized WorldView, Homecare, Homebase, or or any other partner, gives you that opportunity to assess and say, you know, how many folks do we really need doing this? And are are there any folks that are kind of underutilized because of the technology that we put in place? And so like you said, staffing is is a major problem for our industry, and you never know when that next person is gonna walk out the door.

And so what you need to do is be in a position that you have the processes and the technology in place that if you do lose somebody, you're still gonna get by. And so what I like to talk about too is we we work with a lot lot of organizations you mentioned, you know, PE backed organizations, that have, really strong and and significant growth plans. Right? And so that might be through organic growth and it might be through acquisitions.

And as a part of that, they want to understand what does that staffing model need to look like, like you mentioned. But also, can I do that without even adding additional FTEs because of the processes that we put in place? And so I think that's really key and understanding as an organization has that strategy to continue to navigate that growth is is making sure they understand exactly the amount of people they need to accomplish what they need. Because the last thing you wanna be doing is spending more money as margins are continuing to be compressed. And so I feel very strongly about that and and align with a lot of your thoughts there, John.

Well, great. And, you know, I know today was a a short, brief introduction to centralization and some of the benefits that can come from this.

Contact Information

On this next slide, I did wanna share our contact information. I really enjoyed the conversation with you today, John, but obviously there's a lot more questions that come out of a conversation like this. And I want to make sure that everybody has our contact information if they'd like to get a hold of us. We're available individually.

You can contact John or myself, or if you'd like to have a call, jointly. We feel very strongly about how our technology supports our mutual clients, and and we'd love to, educate you more, not only on what our services provide, but, you know, if you are looking to make that transition, we've been through that several times, and we'd love to coach you through that process. Alrighty.

Well, thank you very much everybody that has watched, and look forward to having further conversation.