Introduction

Value-based care remains the focal point in the Home Health Care industry. The nationwide rollout of the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model started in 2022 and is now in all 50 states of the USA. HHVBP is a major step forward in value-based care for home health agencies, shifting reimbursement away from volume to the quality of care delivered. CMS has designated 2022 a pre-implementation year, providing training and resources to agencies to help prepare them for success without the risk of losing on payments. 2023 will be the first performance year, and payment adjustments will begin in 2025.

In 2016, the HHVBP pilot model rolled out in nine US states. It was designed to reward agencies with improved quality scores and reduce payments compared to those with lower performance scores. The success of the pilot model has resulted in an average 4.6% improvement in home health agencies’ quality scores and average annual savings of $141 million to Medicare. Agencies following the pilot model also witnessed a reduction in the total cost of care, a significant reduction in unplanned hospitalizations, and an improved patient experience.

HHVBP Model Details

Under the HHVBP Model, HHAs receive adjustments to their Medicare fee-for-service payments based on their:

• Performance against a set of quality measures in relation to their peers’ performance.
• Performance on the quality measures in a specified year (performance year) which impacts payment adjustments in a later year (payment year).
• Data from Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS),
• Surveys from Home Health Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HHCAHPS) and claims-based measures are used to calculate HHAs’ performance.

A percentage ranging from -5% to 5% in a payment year is applied toward Medicare fee-for-service payments. In this Model, cohorts are determined based on each HHA’s unique beneficiary count in the prior Calendar Year. HHAs are assigned to either a nationwide larger-volume cohort or a nationwide smaller-volume cohort. HHAs of similar size are more likely to receive scores on the same set of measures to set benchmarks and achievement thresholds to determine payment adjustments.

The main goal of the HHVBP Model

• Provide incentives for better quality care with greater efficiency;
• Study new potential quality and efficiency measures for appropriateness in the home health setting;
• Enhance the current public reporting process.

Pre-Implementation and Education

Agencies that will be subject to the HHVBP program for the first time during the performance year 2023 benefit to learn from those who have adopted the HHVBP Pilot model before . In addition to Department of Health and Human Service materials designed to help address home health agency questions, many other industry resources help agencies adapt.

“This is the time to educate the industry on what to expect,” says Salim Bhinderwala, CEO and founder of Michigan-based Home Health Care App Home Health Notify. “This is the right time to ensure the agency’s systems are in place before 2023, when agencies begin to receive reimbursement adjustments for the first time.”

Many agencies are wondering if the change is worth it or essential. An emphatic “YES” is the answer! Agencies must educate their staff, understand the quality perspective requirements and work towards getting all their work processes in order.

You should dedicate a small team in your agency to acquire and study the educational literature from the CMS. The educational material could be in many forms, including printed booklets, websites, or participation in webinars. The team should educate the entire staff on HHVPB and later work towards implementing the systems, ensuring that all the designated tasks occur within the required timeframe.

Improvement in Quality Measures and Reporting

Certain areas where agencies will need to adapt are tracking and improving quality measures.

·         Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS)

·         Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) improvement scores.

·         Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) programs

·         Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports (CASPER)

These scores heavily underline the importance of improving the quality of life and care and services delivered in home-based care.

“The agencies should stress scoring well on OASIS, which will be the key to reporting outcome improvements,” Salim says. “If you score a patient incorrectly, it will be hard to show any improvement at the end of the treatment.”

OASIS validation, including the competing factors that play into a patient’s outcome, can provide additional insight into potential areas of improvement. Assessing these factors, which may include anything from the patient’s family situation and home environment to their access to medication, can offer critical context around each patient’s social determinants of health. This is strongly interconnected to their clinical success.

How can your agency prepare for HHVBP?

HHVBP is inevitable. Agency’s reaction toward change in operations will lead to success. Home-based care agencies sitll continue to navigate the transition from fee-for-service to a system more focused on the outcome. They can utilize this year for preparation which will help to maximize Medicare reimbursement. A few tips to follow are:

1.    Identify your agency’s baseline

Your agency’s current EMR records and OASIS data can be used as a benchmark for your present standing. Obtain your 2019 baseline data, and use this data as a baseline.

2.       Create improvement opportunities

You should prepare your agency for this annual competition. Analyse the trend of your outcomes. You should check if you are trending positively or negatively. Identify the problem areas if your results are, favorable and you still need to achieve the national percentile. Understanding your current position will help you steer your agency toward the required goals for 2023 assessments. It will help you build strategies towards improvement in your OASIS score.

3.       Identify your strengths and accept referrals wisely.

It is extremely important to ensure and record that the patient receives the right care at the right time and in the right setting under the HHVBP model. When you look at a referral, try to look beyond the initial revenue potential. When considering a referral, evaluate If you can improve the patient and if they are appropriate candidates for your Home Health Agency. Value-based payments will help the agencies to focus more deeply at referrals, adjust performance patterns, and develop programs that will positively impact the care you’re providing.

4.      Patient Satisfaction

HHCAHPS survey records the level of customer satisfaction in your agency. Preparing your staff to communicate with the patients to fill out surveys is essential. Customers are the best teachers. Ask them how to improve your services to receive a 10/10 on the feedback form.

5.       OASIS proficiency is a must

OASIS measures will be used to calculate 35% of value-based payment scores for large home health agencies and 50% of scores for small ones. Accuracy in OASIS assessments can have a significant impact on your ratings. However, only a few people like doing an OASIS assessment, educating and training staff to understand the impact this survey. potential This survey can work positively towards quality measures and value-based purchasing results.

6.    Business Intelligence

Business intelligence is extremely critical for HHVBP’s success. Smart technologies that can reflect processes and results will prove to be a catalyst for an agency. It can be very helpful for the agency looking for insights into patients’ clinical records and executing daily processes. Dynamic technology is vital in communication with the team and patients. Data stored can be further analyzed to benefit the patient.

Hence, this becomes critical in providing value-based care.

By the year 2026, Americans will spend a whopping $5.7 trillion on health care. The Home Health industry will need to recruit and train 13 million new caregivers to meet demand. On the contrary, attracting and retaining talented staff is challenge faced by Home Health agencies for several years with staff turnover rate as high as 22.18% in the current year. Without sufficient staff, the Agencies are unable to admit more patients, resulting in unhappy clients and restrictions on the expansion of their business. With the result, only 5% of Home Health Agency have 5-Star ratings.

Challenges faced in hiring staff for the home health agency are:

• Awareness of job opportunities in the Home Health Industry
• limited interest in home health care careers
• Concern for job growth
• Health Care worker’s interest in roles outside the industry

Given these obstacles, it is extremely difficult to ensure the availability of qualified employees to keep up with continued growth in the Home Health Industry over the next decade. The need of the hour is to work towards creating awareness about the Health Care Industry and providing the staff with the utmost facilities, remuneration, career path, and perks.

Tips for Successfully Recruiting & Retaining Homecare Givers

Caregivers are a Homecare agency’s most important asset. With the emergence of COVID-19 disparity between caregiver supply and demand has become apparent. The agencies should ideally recruit and retain their staff by using innovative strategies, and also attract potential candidates. They should invest in ongoing retention programs, implement new technologies to empower caregivers, and continue to provide quality care for those who need it the most.

1. Create awareness of Job Opportunities

The home health care agency needs to put in extra effort to attract CNAs, nurses, and other prospective applicants. The Homecare industry should invest in educating the general public and potential future employees on the home health care space as an amicable and promising place to work. Job portals mostly cover job opportunities in Nursing Homes and Hospitals and overlook the Home Health Care sector. It is essential to create awareness in nursing schools, about job opportunities in the space of HHAs.

Many job seekers are motivated towards training opportunities and career paths, besides remuneration. Aptitude should be an important factor for job requirements. Does being a caretaker come naturally to them? Do they have compassion and sensitivity to handle patients? 

2. Attract talent from outside the industry

Instead of contending for existing staff, Homecare Agencies need to bring new workers into the Home Health workforce. The Agencies should work towards changing the label of “non-skilled labor”, for Caregivers. This move will provide a much-needed shot in the arm to the Home Health Industry. ‘referrals’ should be promoted as a way to recruit new workers. Data shoes that people referred by friends score very well on annual performance reviews and stay longer.

3. Focus on employee training and retention with innovative programs

An average caregiver costs $2,600 to replace, making onboarding a critical expenditure for an agency to bear. After recruitment, it is essential for the staff to receive proper attention and training. Beginners’ orientation can be followed by training on basic skills, such as elderly safety, working with chronic illnesses, and transporting clients. Caregivers should also be well trained on self-care tips to help them combat burnout from the very beginning.

Incentive programs are a great way to empower caregivers and keep them fulfilled in their careers. They can be awarded points for on-time visits and for accurately observing and tracking patients’ conditions, which can be pooled toward rewards.  Perks such as gift cards or spa days for a job well-done can make all the difference to overall morale and drive.

4. Implement innovative technology to streamlines operations & boosts efficiency

Home Health agencies must invest in innovative IT solutions to improve existing processes, which will make the lives easier for caregivers and their patients. For instance, replacing manual forms of billing and communication processes with a platform that connects Patient and their family, caregiver, physicians, and agency in real-time on the same group.

Many other benefits that clinicians and caregivers can avail themselves of with a smart App are, streamlined and accelerated processes of scheduling appointments with the right caregivers Storage of medical records, clocking in and out, maintaining a shift schedule, communicating with the agency, completing in-service training, and much more.

Running a Home Health Agency requires several investments.

The company invests money and resources into partnerships, technology, security, advertising, social media, research and development, and much more. The most important investment a good Home Health Care company would focus on is, “Investing in people”. The value, that efficient and motivated Caregivers bring to the Agency is multi-fold. Investing in people is a two-way process. Employers invest in their people so that they are happy with self-growth and willing to put in meaningful work for the company, and in return, employees devote their time, energy, talents, and the very best version of themselves to the success and vision of the company. 

It is the company’s responsibility to initiate relationships that help employees feel they are needed and can make a difference. It’s not just about rewarding hard work when it happens; it’s about inspiring a will to work in your team from the very beginning.

Why is it Important to Invest in Your Employees?

Investing in your employees / caregivers takes money, time, and effort, but it’s an investment worth making. When you invest in them, you also invest in the future of your company. By using a few strategic tactics, you can help staff gain company loyalty & be more interested & involved in their work. 

• Attract Talent and provide Well Structured Training: Agencies that invest in the professional development of their staff tend to save more in the long run, compared to businesses that fail to properly train their workforce. When you invest in growth opportunities for your employees, they’ll in all probability, share this fact with the people in their professional network and write about it on popular job boards and social media platforms. Create problem-solving processes and seek strategies for team collaboration. Mentorship programs allow employees to become experts while inducing business growth. A positive impression of your agency will pave a way for new talent. People like to work in a positive and motivating environment. Let your staff be your best word-of-the-mouth marketing tool. Invest in good training, informational materials, and whatever else is needed to guide the workers to make good decisions and take effective action. A study conducted by IBM found that staff members were 12 times more likely to leave a job if the company wasn’t helping them to grow in their careers. 
• Build strong Communication Channels to Avoid Micromanagement: Poor communication that results in employees’ efforts and talents being misdirected costs organizations millions of dollars each year. Develop open communication processes that provide structure to the team. Establish ways and processes for inter-department communication and other teams in the company. The organization should most importantly, define a way of delivering information to clients. Micromanagement has been found to lead to higher turnover, but, poorer teamwork, and health problems. Investing in training and job resources allow employees to better manage themselves and be more productive. HOME HEALTH NOTIFY APP is an ideal platform that promotes process-oriented work ethics. Well defined work schedule with Hourly, Daily, and Weekly Calendars define the detailed workflow of each process. All 4 entities, the clinicians, the physician and his team, the office staff, and most importantly the patients are all on the same page.  
• Gain a Reputation for Promoting Great Work-Life Balance:Some companies get short-term results by pushing their employees to work crazy hours and carry an unreasonable workload, but those employees generally don’t stick around for long. Instead, investing in improved software like the HOME HEALTH NOTIFY will help them strategize their work in such a way that they  get enough time in hand to spend with their loved ones. This builds your reputation of a caring workplace and allows employees to give the best of themselves during the hours they spend at work.

“We have been striving to equip our staff with the most efficient workflow and processes through up-to-date technology. This initiated us to build Home Health Notify (HHN)”, says Salim Bhinderwala, the founder of Home Health Notify and CEO of TONE Home Health Services Inc. Michigan. He also adds, ‘ The App transformed our working ethics at TONE. It infused a culture of accountability and efficiency throughout the company. For me, the most important and exciting outcome was improved results for our patients due to improved care coordination. For the first time in 20 years, I saw physicians, patients, and clinicians communicating in real-time and preventing hospitalizations.’

• Employees Who Share the Company’s Values Stay Loyal: Many personnel, especially younger workers, are willing to accept lower pay if the values of the company closely mirror their own. Spend some time learning what is most meaningful to your people about their work and update your corporate values with their input. This can foster greater employee loyalty and commitment to the organization. Give your staff an overview of your core business values, thus providing insight into how their role plays an important part in the company’s mission. Meanwhile, set aside some time and create an environment for staff to ask questions fearlessly. We all know, that the cost of replacing employees can almost be double their salaries or more. Building good relations with employees by investing in their talents, saves your business the expense of losing their skills. 
• Assurance of Employees’ growth: Employees cited a lack of career growth as the top reason they would leave a job according to a report by Deloitte. A business that prioritizes the welfare of its employees naturally gains increased efficiency in its business functions. This increased efficiency creates a positive image of your organization and enables it to attract an increased number of new customers. When you create the conditions for employees to feel more engaged in their work, they convey a much more authentic, positive representation of your company than any amount of advertising. A Gallup report stated that engaged employees can even increase sales by around 20%. Satisfied employees lead to satisfied customers.

COVID-19 has changed the employment landscape for many business leaders. The instinct right now is to retract investments in employees. It’s an intuitive reaction, but these short-term decisions could have long-term negative financial repercussions in the form of voluntary turnover. It seems obvious that if businesses want to adapt to changing market conditions, improve remote work processes, and maintain productivity with dispersed teams, they need to support their people. There’s more pressure than ever on people to produce and help their employers succeed.

The ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Home Health Notify App is tailor built for the home health industry by a Home Health agency. It improves patient outcomes and prevents hospitalizations through early detection and immediate intervention. The App will prove to be the Catalyst you have been seeking to improve the work efficiency of your staff and instil a culture of accountability. 

Reach out to us for detailed information on how investing in this cutting-edge technology App, will not just increase your patient outcomes and business growth but also keep staff happy and motivated!

Book a free demonstration and virtual tour of Home Health Notify at  https://homehealthnotify.com/schedule-a-demo/

WHAT IS RPM?

RPM is the use of digital technology to monitor and capture medical and other health records from patients electronically and further transmit them to healthcare providers for assessment. The process is implemented with prior recommendation and instruction from the physician. RPM helps continuous tracking of healthcare data for patients and encourages them to take control of their health regularly.

RPM can be used to collect patients’ health data, including blood pressure, vital signs, weight, heart rate, blood sugar levels, and physical activity. The most commonly used RPM devices are blood pressure monitors, weight scales, cardiac implants, blood glucose meters, and pulse oximeters. Specialties frequently embracing RPM include cardiology, pulmonology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, and bariatrics. Hypertension, obesity, congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic lower respiratory disease (COPD), and diabetes are the most common disease managed by RPM.

Chronic patients are the biggest prospective clients for RPM, as they are synonymous with continuous asymptomatic issues. Adoption of the RPM model is now a must, as it focuses more on clinical efficiency than just clinical care.

WHO CAN DELIVER AND RECEIVE RPM SERVICES?

Physicians and qualified healthcare professionals can provide for RPM. It is soon becoming an integral part of the Home Health Agencies. The agency should ideally offer the RPM device to the patients and train them on its usage. Many a time, a patient might require more than one device. The agency has to make sure the patient has a WIFI connection, a Smartphone, and a Personal computer at their home to enable RPM services. Patients may also need in-person or virtual assistance to set up and use the devices for RPM.

RPM should ideally be suggested or prescribed for patients with the medical necessity to check medical records regularly or daily. These should reflect in their medical records. Generally, RPM is proposed for patients recently discharged from the hospital and patients who are critically ill or have a long-term ailment. People are empowered and engaged to manage their health when discussing self-generated health data through RPM.

BENEFITS OF RPM MODEL:

69% of healthcare professionals have ranked RPM the #1 reducer of overall costs. Over the next 25 years, $200 billion in healthcare costs will be saved globally due to the implementation of RPM. It is a driver for Value-Based Care, as it improves care for patients and cuts costs for providers by reducing hospital readmissions and ER visits.

• Regular health monitoring keeps people healthy
• It helps reduce the number of hospitalization and re-hospitalization of patients
• Regular monitoring helps reduce the stay of patients at the hospitals works well for older and disabled patients as they can remain at home in the able hands of health care staff, instead of nursing homes and hospitals.
• Cuts down overall health expenses for patients, Home Health Agencies, and eventually the Government Healthcare Program.
• RPM’s growth hinges on its ability to improve care for patients and cut costs for providers and ease the burden currently placed on physicians and clinicians.

RPM has different models, so the agency’s readiness will vary according to the program they have chosen. However, a few general steps need to be followed by all HHAs for the smooth implementation of RPM.

• Identify the kind of patients that can be taken into the RPM category.
• Select effective and efficient devices that can be provided to the patients for RPM service.
• Choose a reputable technology partner to help your agency draw the right processes for your agency. The tech partner can help you install, streamline and train your staff.
• Train your caregivers and clinicians, who can train the patients on the usage of RPM devices.
• Establish policies and procedures to prevent future disputes.
• Establish a good Market program to advertise the awareness and benefits of RPM.

Your Home Health Agency should follow HIPAA security and privacy regulations and ensure that the RPM devices and technology are compliant with FDA standards.

HOW DOES THE DATA CAPTURED VIA RPM HELP PATIENTS AND AGENCIES?

The personal health records received through different patients are captured systematically in a central data repository – EHRs. Longitudinal data from the patient will uncover more effective feedback coupled with usability.

Long-term data from patients can also provide new insights into the effect of medicines, therapies, and preventive applications to manage more complex conditions. Such processes will promote improved adherence and adoption of medication and treatment, leading to the desired outcome. Once health care providers and patients genuinely grasp the value of RPM and its data, there’s no turning back.

HOME HEALTH NOTIFY IS RPM READY NOW!

Home Health Notify App can streamline all the medical readings of the patient through their RPM devices in real-time. The RPM readings are integrated and displayed directly on the Home Health Notify App for the doctors and physicians to check and take necessary action quickly.

All the RPM machines, i.e., weighing scale, blood pressure monitors, weight scales, cardiac implants, blood glucose meters, and pulse oximeters, are synced with a simple scanning of QR code, and the App is ready to take the reading from the hardware within minutes. No complicated integration procedures are required to accomplish this process, which can be easy for elderly patients operating the systems independently.

HHN also offers devices for RPM on a rental basis. It helps to ease the financial burden of the high purchase cost of the hardware for HHAs.

Conclusion

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) is the new staple medical service for delivering value-based healthcare. It is soon becoming a need in both primary and specialty care. Patients are increasingly embracing new and innovative ways, and it is just a matter of time before the policymakers will implement RPM’s adoption in the years to come.

For more information on how to make your Home Health Notify RPM ready, register now for a free trial and demo. https://homehealthnotify.com/contact-us/

Introduction

A startling 75 percent of Americans over 65 live with multiple chronic health conditions, ranging from diabetes to dementia. Predominantly, hospitals have been able to refer patients to their network of home health agencies with the confidence of being absorbed by them until recently. The trends show that post-COVID 19, more and more patients opted for home health care where they get treated in the secure environment of their homes instead of visiting hospitals or nursing homes. Hence, The demand for home and community-based care has skyrocketed, unlike the supply creating high referral rejection rate than ever. 

According to an analysis by CarePort based on 1,000 home health Agencies

Reason for the high rejection rates

The Challenges of Health Care Costing

Accurate cost measurement in health care is challenging, mainly due to the complexity of its delivery. The patient enrolled with the health care agency is treated by various medical professionals and resources, each with different capabilities and costs. The patients go through clinical consultations, treatments, and administrative processes until the care is completed depending on their medical condition. Patients with the same conditions are often treated differently depending on their response, age, and current physical condition. Lack of standardization systems to some extent from the artisanal nature of medical practice makes it challenging to calculate and recover costs.

Shortage of skilled staff

It is challenging for HHAs to work on improving wages, training and recruiting, and retention efforts of the health care workers without proper funding from the government. The home health agencies will face an extreme shortage of millions of caregivers by the end of the decade, and they will be unable to compete with a much larger number of patients with each passing year.

Shortage of staff due to low wages

For a few years, the health care staff have seen no or very little growth in their wages in the past few years. The stagnation is blamed on the government’s health care policies. Instead of spending their well-earned money on themselves, the healthcare providers pay for higher health insurance premiums, deductibles, copays, and co-insurance. They get paid less as their efforts are also cashed by the doctors, hospitals, Pharma, device companies, and insurers. With low wages and stressful work, clinicians working for home health agencies seek different career options for monetary growth. New professionals who want to join the industry are discouraged due to lower wages and appreciation. 

Shortage of staff due to the booming elderly population

Ten thousand baby boomers in the United States turn 65 every day; the ageing population is expected to double in 20 years and swell to 88 million by 2050. The alarming growth of patients is unmatched, with projected figures of 41 % growth from 2016 to 2026, translating to 7.8 million job openings. 

Government policies (PDGM) and budgets

The most crucial area important for HHA is cost control while managing each patient’s care plan. The government’s PGDM policy has dramatically changed home health reimbursement since January 2020. The change has initiated a shift in CMSs; hence, care leaders are keen to evolve their organizations into value-driven and client / patient-centred providers. The HHAs only get paid 60 days after the approval of their reimbursement. The lack of a consistent national policy is a major overarching problem for home care that affects paid providers, care recipients, and their families daily. 

Inadequate health policies by Trump govt

The federal government and households were the most significant sponsors, contributing 28% to the total spending before the Trump Administration. The cost of health as a share of the economy decreased 0.2 points to 17.7% in 2018. Increased net costs drove up private health insurance spending by 5.8% to $1.2 trillion in 2018, faster than the 4.9% growth in the year before. Consumers also paid more out-of-pocket for retail prescription drugs, medical equipment, and dental services, offsetting a fall in hospital care expenses.

Impact on the Home Health Industry

Overworked and frustrated clinicians

Due to the extra work influx, every party involved started getting increased acuity. Labor crisis leads to prioritization, which works against the low acuity clients. This also results in a drop in the efficiency of patient care. 

Loss of new work hinders the growth of the agency

Declining new referrals has hindered home health providers’ ability to grow. Small Home Health Care agencies are feared to shut down due to a complete lack of staff, leading to further unemployment of the admin and office staff.

Sales and marketing strategy

Together with instantly impacting volumes and suppliers’ skills to develop, capability challenges have also impacted gross sales and advertising and marketing methods. Equally, they’ve influenced how operators handle their referral-source relationships. It is challenging to contact referral companions, have a wholesome combine, and serve the communities broadly.

Unfortunately, Home Care remains poorly understood, sometimes mistrusted, despite many stakeholders, caregivers, paid workers of various kinds and skill levels, employers, and communities in a broad sense. They collectively are trying to provide the best services with limited resources. Well-laid laws and procedures can prove like a shot-in-the-arm to the overburdened Home Health Care Industry.

How to combat referral rejection with technology provided by HHN

Eliminate unnecessary processes

Research shows that although inputs are more expensive in the United States, the higher cost in U.S. facilities is mainly due to lower resource productivity. HOME HEALTH NOTIFY APP (HHN) significantly improves productivity in the organization, improving staff performance. Home Health Notify gives you more time to work harder on what matters most.

Communication in Real-Time

Advances in IT and the introduction of online Apps have made communication extraordinarily swift and accurate. Communication Apps have specific features that cover the entire team working on a patient to get immediate information on them at the click of a button. This is a boon during times of emergencies.

Map-routing

The caregivers who are visiting houses of various patients in a day are well informed about the details of the patients and any alterations in the plan or situation in Real-Time. Technology also supports them with mapping the patients’ houses to save time on the road.

Recognition of intelligent patient clusters

Like route mapping, the HHN APP is a function where the caregiver can assign patients to the same area after choosing their first appointment. This way, clinicians do not need to ride across the city to visit patients. This practice saves a lot of time and effort, which can be utilized in acquiring and tending a few other patients. It proves to be a win-win situation for all the agency, clinicians, and patients, especially in the wake of high referral rejections. 

Adopt Home Health Notify (HHN), which works with all EMRs, takes a giant leap towards digitization and prompt communication, time-saving and cost-effective solutions. The App promotes process-oriented work ethics, a well-defined work schedule with Hourly | Daily | Weekly Calendars, and a detailed Workflow of each process.

Schedule a Demo to get a FREE virtual tour for more information on Schedule a Demo – Home Health Notify.

As the air temperature cools and the fall colors bloom, it is evident that the Holiday Season is round the corner. While the holiday season can be a time for planning, travels and festivities, with family to recharge our batteries, healthcare is one of the few industries exempted from downtime. Caregivers are expected to ‘give away’ the “season of giving”. Holiday Season referred to by most as – the most wonderful time of the year, can be anything but that for many in the Home Health Care industry.

The healthcare industry runs 24/7, for 365 days. Therefore, working holidays is expected. The festive season can bring on long hours, clinicians and other healthcare staff are often expected to work a rotating schedule of nights, weekends on holidays. Spending holidays away from family is not ideal, but it’s an unfortunate reality of the profession. This can leave them emotionally and physically exhausted, making their holiday season less enjoyable. Health care agencies should make it a point to spread holiday cheer with staff and patients. Clinicians do not have to miss out on favourite holiday traditions. Instead, create new ones and adjust old ones to work within available schedule.

This year also, COVID-19 adds new list of challenges, including low resources, crunched staffing, and overrun facilities. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that medical assistants are required to put in some extra time. These few suggestions can help caregivers manage stress during the holidays.

Plan Ahead and Set Expectations

Planning ahead is always a good idea, it’s perhaps never more helpful than during the holiday season. If you know that you will be working for the entirety of the holiday season, then it’s time to set expectations and plan ahead with your loved ones. Communicate with your family about which celebrations you can and cannot attend. While they may not fully understand your job’s demands, assure them that you still plan to celebrate and spend time with them, in person or virtually. While we’re pressured to be extra cheerful during the holiday season, keeping a realistic approach to the season can help manage expectations for these weeks. MIND YOUR MINDSET !

Celebrate Your Holiday Early – Be your own Santa

Start new traditions. If you can’t celebrate on the exact date, choose a different day. After all, the holidays are what you make of them. If your family and friends have a flexible schedule, plan a festive (and safe) get together, uphold traditions, and make the most of your time off. Taking simple steps to make to-do lists or getting things done ahead of time will help keep you more organized and present during the holidays. Finish your gift shopping, decorate your home, bake your favourite treats, whatever is on your list, get it done. Pamper yourself with some gifts or moments to look forward to. Pack your favourite meals or order in for your shifts. Book a spa day or other fun activity after the holidays. Whatever it is, make sure it brings you joy. The bottom line is that this time is precious. Savour the moments with your loved ones and make good memories you can cherish forever. CREATE YOUR OWN CHEER !

Connect with other caregivers

Your peer caregivers are feeling many of the same emotions you are, even when people around you don’t understand. Connect to share your feelings and get tips for holiday survival. If it’s difficult to get to a caregiver support group due to holiday business or weather, try online message boards or social media groups. SHARE YOUR EMOTIONS !

Listen to Your Body

The holiday season brings more stress, more travel, and generally less rest. Combined with the peak of cold and flu season, it’s incredibly important for caregivers to take extra measures to stay healthy. Staying active, hydrated, and well rested are key, but remember to take the time to stay centred and focused within yourself, whether it be through meditation or even just a quick 10-15 deep breaths and relaxation. Your mind and body know best so stay mindful of what you need. PUT YOUR HEALTH FIRST !

Review Your Holiday Shift Policy

The extra shifts and holiday pay can become enticing. Caregivers often become overly ambitious and sign up for multiple overtime or holiday shifts, only to become overfatigued and left scrambling to find a replacement at the last minute, inevitably creating stress for themselves and more so for colleagues, trying to fill the shifts. It’s important to remember that while you might have the best of intentions with earning extra pay by picking up overtime or holiday shifts, the gift of your time and your presence (as opposed to presents) is what your friends and family cherish most. GATHER MORE MEMORIES THAN MONEY !

Lastly and most importantly

Use Technology to Stay Connected

Technological advanced in the field of communication will help you stay connected both ways

Connect with your family virtually

Don’t miss to be a part of family celebrations. This year has been the year for Zoom and other virtual hangouts. If you can’t get together with your friends and family in person or you’re not comfortable with the idea, make your gatherings a virtual affair. Be there while your children open presents or while your family lights the next candle on the menorah—all from the nurse’s station or break room.

Stay connected with your patients with new technologies and advanced Apps

The Home Health industry is commissioned with extremely advanced Apps that helps the clinicians stay connected not only with the patients but their team. The medical team can keep up-to-date information and check on the patient with cutting-edge communication features. “In these times when high-tech solutions are available for every field, it is essential for a Home Health Care Agency to arm their staff with up-to-the-minute technology. Home Health Notify is developed keeping in mind challenging times, and how we can provide useful solutions to combat and reach a win-win situation for all, Patients, Clinicians and the Agency.” Says Salim Bhinderwala, Founder of Home Health Notify.

USE TECHNOLOGY TO ENRICH LIVES !

During these times, which are festive yet challenging, the Home Health Agencies should actively work towards creating opportunities for Inclusive observances. Aside from managing the many additional activities and hectic schedules, making sure associates are healthy and safe during the busiest time of the year is also a main priority. Promoting employee engagement can help caregivers feel a great sense of purpose and belonging – benefiting not only them, but the organization as well. Well decorated office, festive treats and goodies are huge mood lifters.

While building a schedule, skill mix of the staff must be taken into account to ensure the right caregiver is available to care for any need. Some people actually like to work the holidays, so begin by asking for volunteers. Then determine what staff is available to float or be re-assigned from other areas. Administrative staff need to remind managers to enforce the policy, following it closely to ensure fairness.

Thoughtful planning and positive mindset is the key to celebrate this festive season with a smile!

Astute Formula to Grow Your Business

COVID-19 has been challenging to the Home health care industry. Yet it has showed us a way to unlock major growth opportunities for Home Health Agencies by using technology to their advantage.

Amidst the pandemic, the way Home Health Agencies have been dealing with patients, have gone through myriad of challenges. HHAs acquire partnerships, acquisitions and growth opportunities more than ever before. Patients, especially aging seniors have always preferred receiving care in the comfort of their own homes, now find them increasing in availability.

“We’re at a moment in history where the operation and execution of Home Health Agencies is going to change for ever,” says Salim Bhinderwala, CEO and founder of the path-breaking Software Application platform, HOME HEALTH NOTIFY. “Now is the time for Agencies to look inwards and focus on what they can do internally to grow their business. Find ways to diversify, adopt new revenue resources, while keeping expenses in check”.

The healthcare industry continues to make transition to value-based care, hence, clinical documentation becomes a greater priority. It also is a source of frustration for clinicians and adds to the problem of clinician burnout. What can home health agencies do to reduce clinician burnout and help restore work-life balance?

Modification and adapting new technologies enhance current capabilities of clinicians on the field. For instance:

• Services that help care-givers connect with patients in Real-Time, especially during emergencies
• Tracking availability of support staff with Road-Mapping
• Prompt intervention with physicians during critical times
• Well defined work processes which helps staff to replace colleagues when required

Technology should be user-friendly and scalable to ensure clinicians can perform all relevant tasks effectively and promptly. The platform must allow dissemination of critical patient data in real time to ensure inter-connectivity of the team. For clinicians, tying repetitive administrative tasks to their EHR means they can spend less time record-keeping and more time focusing on what matters most: Treating their patients.

Gone are the days of endless repetitive phone calls, hours wasted on the road and long waiting hours to receive approvals. Care-providers are increasingly incorporating virtual tools to their service offering. Now, with heightened pressure on the health care system, we’re seeing instant need for adaptation of smart technology. This can be a game-changer that accelerates clinician productivity and restores the work-life balance that clinicians desire.

Sustaining a team of skilled caregivers is essential to growth. Technology is vital for this: it’s truly what can create a phenomenal caregiver experience. Inefficient tools leave caregivers disappointed or frustrated and can detract from their most meaningful pursuit: providing good care to clients. Plus, elements like scheduling tools allow caregivers to chart their preferred routes and plans and avoid long drives and empty gaps in their day.

As a Home Health Agency, it is imperative to adopt suitable technologies to equip staff with effective tools for enhanced performance. The bar for professional digital solutions has been raised. The client, caregiver, and office employee experience are heavily influenced by micro-interactions within software tools. Good technology becomes the fabric that binds a team together, and supports an overall attraction and retention of efficient staff, with visibility into caregiver satisfaction. Technology also positions agencies to have the best chance to grow if they keep in mind their key strategies and extend best services.

Alliance with the right Technology Partner

Home Health Notify’s (HHN) unique platform offers home-based care agencies to thrive in a value-based care environment, which is where health care is headed. HHN stores and provides information that is updated and viewable for key decision makers anywhere, anytime. The App allows providers to focus exclusively on the care they are providing and growing their business organically.

A win-win for both; Agencies and Staff, the intervention of technology results in the same amount of work completed much faster. This allows clinicians to take on more patients in the same period of time, resulting in INCREASED PATIENT CENSUS.

“HHN has the potential to take your Agency to the next level and furthermore, with simple implementation of defined processes. The advance and slick communication tools are a game changer,” says Mr. Bhinderwala. “Adopting HHN, Home Health Agencies enter into a well-defined space of work culture with efficient and accountable staff. A leap towards growth in business.”

To learn more about how Home Health Notify can help your organization visit Homehealthnotify.com and book a free demo ASAP.

Home Health Notify hand-holds Agencies to embrace and realize their full potential.

Technology often has a reputation for creating distance. Fortunately, it has had an opposite effect in health care, making it easier to connect patients with providers. In Home Health Care, tech innovations have helped providers monitor patients with mobility, transportation or other issues that make getting to healthcare facility a challenge. Technology is critical to home health care, especially during these testing times of Pandemic. IT expertise and new generation Apps are proving to be of immense assistance to prevent Staff exposure to COVID-19-positive patients. Future advances in home health care skills have the potential to facilitate its role within the overall health care system and help foster community-based independence for individuals. Adapting new skills, HHAs can work closely with families and caregivers, to balance their safety and care.

Technology has become a beneficial alternative to connect and monitor patient who were otherwise isolated. It has also ensured ‘at-risk’ patients didn’t postpone important check-ups and evaluations. Information technology has been used in health care for a long time to bridge geographic distances and give people access to expert opinions without having to travel. Technology can be a wonderful tool, tech-based care can help to:

• Reduce rehospitalization
• Improve Patient Outcome
• Keep patients more comfortable at home
• Allow Clinicians to manage symptoms better
• Provide immediate feedback and support especially during emergency

Technology has revolutionized and improved home health care immensely, most important aspects are:

1. Communication in Real-Time: Advances in IT and introduction of online Apps have made communication extremely swift and accurate. Communication Apps have exhaustive features that cover the entire team working on a patient to get immediate information on them at the click of a button. This is a boon, during the time of emergencies.

2. Support field staff manage home health tasks more efficiently: The care givers on the go, visiting houses of various patients in a day are well informed not just about the details of the patients but any alterations in the plan or situation in Real-Time. Technology also supports them with mapping the houses of the patients so as to save time on the road.

3. Results in more patient visits per day: With seamless communication, mapping and instant information on every situation the clinicians on field are in control of the situation. Care givers get ample time to take-on more patients, since there is less paper work to tackle and minimum visit to the office to feed information. This proves to be a win-win situation for everyone, Patients, Clinicians and the

Need for HHAs to shift towards new technologies

During and after the COVID-19 crisis, success has favoured the innovators. Home Health Agencies that have adjusted their business operations accordingly and are keeping up with the sweeping regulatory changes have a massive advantage moving forward.

Home healthcare for a long time has been paper-based, and many companies are still figuring out what digital transformation will look like for them. Companies are looking at ways they can use technology to improve efficiency, facilitate clinician’s workflow, provide a better patient experience and potentially take advantage of reimbursement from the federal government. The pandemic has made clear the need to digitize, especially with telemedicine options. Modern telemedicine can now be a central part of an organization’s strategy for patient care, rather than an auxiliary, nice-to-have function.

The wider implementation of telemedicine has also put focus on the importance of investing in a strong technological infrastructure. An effective telemedicine strategy needs a strong digital foundation that is able to integrate with existing systems and provide more efficient service. Improvements in home healthcare IT will be a big support to clinicians and caregivers as well. Digitization can help clinicians focus on patients rather than spending time on data entry and sifting through stacks of papers.

Pandemic accelerated the technology conversation in independent living communities as many were not prepared for the high demand at the start of the health crisis. When residents became isolated due to safety restrictions, technology kept them linked to their health consultants and loved ones. The senior sector is growing the most in terms of adapting to new technologies, as they are used to being cured while they are in the comforts of their homes. The routine screenings and care that were postponed during the pandemic will cause ripple effects for years to come.

It is high time the HHAs understand the need of the hour and leverage technology for their patients, which will ensure reduced hospitalisation and increased patient census. Adopting well designed communication platform and cohesive technology will set your Home Health Agency in brick and mortar, with your sight firmly set towards a fruitful future.

Home Health Notify (HHN) is a Real-time HIPAA compliant Communication platform that is made by a Home Health Agency for the Home Health Industry. HHN works with all EMRs effectively and efficiently.

HHN is the ideal platform to adopt, while making the big leap towards digitization and prompt communication. The App promotes process-oriented work ethics, well defined work schedule with Hourly | Daily | Weekly Calendars and detailed Workflows of each process.

For more information, visit the link below and register for FREE virtual tour

Contact Us – Home Health Notify 

Home Health Notify helps achieve 5-star ratings

Home Health Industry in the US has a market size of $110 billion. There are 431,454 Home Care Providers businesses in the US as in 2021, an increase of 3.8% from 2020. The number of businesses in the Home Care Providers industry in the US has grown 3.7% per year on average over the five years between 2016 – 2021. Texas (4,204 businesses), California (3,423 businesses) and Florida (2,682 businesses) are the States with the most number of Home Care Providers businesses in the US according to www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/number-of-businesses/home-care-providers-united-states/

The remarkable share of Home Health Industry initiated the government to regulate and assess all the players in the industry. The Centre for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requested the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to create a survey in order to better evaluate and understand the quality of care provided by home health care agencies. In January 2015, AHRQ  developed Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Hospice Survey, which follows scientific principles of survey design and development. The well-researched exhaustive process of data collection was derived through Interviews, formative research, Input from experts, cognitive testing, field tests and endorsement of national quality forum.

STAR RATINGS

As a result of CAHPS Hospice survey, CMS created Quality of Patient Care Star Ratings to help provide transparency to consumers, by comparing the quality of care delivered by various Home Health Agencies (HHAs). The Star Ratings summarize certain data about the quality of home health care provided by various HHAs in a format that is easy to view and understand. The ratings are posted on www.medicare.gov: the official U.S. government site for Medicare, a primary tool to assist consumers choose a home health care provider.

There are two types of home health star ratings:

• Quality of Patient Care Star Ratings: The Quality of Patient Care (QoPC) Star Rating is based on OASIS assessments and Medicare claims data. These ratings were first posted in July 2015 and is updated on quarterly bases.
• Patient Survey Star Ratings: Patient Survey Star Ratings are based on the Home Health CAHPS Survey. They were first posted on January 2016 and is updated quarterly.

All Medicare-certified HHAs need to participate for Quality of Patient Care Star Rating. For this it is mandatory for HHAs to provide data for at least 20 complete quality episodes for each measure to be reported on Care Compare. Episodes must have an end-of-care date within the 12-month reporting period regardless of the start date, to have a Quality of Patient Care Star Rating computed. Each HHA gets preview reports showing the Patient Survey star ratings about one month before the ratings are posted on Care Compare. Agencies have a few weeks to review and request alterations with supporting documents and proof.

How does it benefit HHAs?

The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Hospice Survey empowers Home Health Agencies by attracting referral sources, driving business growth, and sustaining compliance requirements from their state departments of health as well as the federal Centre for Medicare Services. As value-based systems continue to impact the healthcare industry, publicly reported data becomes increasingly beneficial to organizations with optimal survey scores as they accrue referrals and industry partnerships.

CMS believes, the CAHPS Hospice Survey delivers valuable insights to the organizations for ongoing efforts to improve patient and family experiences. Additionally, Star Ratings stimulates improvement in the quality of care provided and incentivizes HHAs to maintain quality.

The survey play an important role as a quality improvement (QI) tool for health care organizations that use the standardized data to :

• Identify relative strengths and weaknesses in their performance.
• Determine where they need to improve.
• Track their progress over time.
• Cultivate an environment that encourages and sustains quality improvement.

Optimizing scores on the CAHPS Hospice Survey is ultimately based on an organization’s ability to deliver a patient- and family-centred care experience. This keeps the HHAs on toes as they are reviewed and examined consistently. Predictions of strong and steady revenue growth over the five years, as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides and an aging population feels more comfortable utilizing industry services. The aging population will likely continue to foster revenue growth because this demographic not only requires more healthcare services compared with other age groups, but it also increasingly prefers home care. Payers are expected to progressively shift to home care because it is more affordable than inpatient care.

How Home Health Notify helps achieve 5-Star Ratings?

Improved patient care is the ultimate goal for every Home Health Agency. Early detection coupled with Effective intervention results in Improved patient outcomes. The golden rule for agencies, is to focus on improved patient care through efficient processes for consistent proficiency and results. This will eventually lead them to 5-star ratings on the CAHPS Hospice Survey.

Home Health Notify (HHN), has tailor designed communication tools to facilitate improved patient outcomes and prevents hospitalizations by early detection and immediate intervention. HHN works with all EMRs efficiently and proves to be the Catalyst you have been seeking to improve the work efficiency of your staff and instil culture of accountability through:

• Organised detailed documentation
• Progress chart of the patient from SOC
• Clear Communication channels which can be recorded for audit

HHN’s advanced communication tools not only makes the intervention with patients very detailed yet quick but also keeps the clinicians abreast with all the critical information. The group of clinicians, physicians and patients, working as a team especially during emergencies is a sure shot winner.  Smiling patients and stress-free clinicians are a dream come true for a Home Health Agencies. HHN strives to aim towards this goal.

Home Health Notify (HHN) can transform and escalate the efficiency of your agency. We will be happy to explain, HOW? To learn more, schedule a free Demo of the App!

Contact Us – Home Health Notify

President Joe Biden called on Americans to get the COVID vaccine, stressing that the nation was prepared to deal with the surge in COVID-19 cases like never before. The news came as the highly contagious Delta variant is driving a coronavirus surge, with the nation reporting more than 85,000 cases a day.

Almost 70% of adults have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, a benchmark President Biden had hoped to reach nearly a month earlier, on July 4. According to latest figures from the CDC, 163.9 million people, or 49 percent of the total U.S. population, have now been fully vaccinated.

COVID vaccination of homebound persons present unique challenges

• Homebound persons need the help of another person or medical equipment such as crutches, walkers, or wheelchairs to leave their home
• However, medical providers believe that their health or illness could get worse if they leave their home. It might be too taxing to visit the hospital or Doctor’s clinic for such a small procedure.

Home Health Care Agencies are offering affordable and convenient on-call services, for vaccination at home. However, data suggests that the current design of the Medicare home health benefit is not sufficient to meet the needs of post-acute beneficiaries.

Benefits Of Vaccination At Home

Vaccination is a simple procedure and can be easily administered at home under the care of a trained nurse. Benefits of getting vaccination at home are:

• Saves senior citizens from travelling all the way to the hospital
• Vaccinations cause a lot of stress among elderly. It is better to get them vaccinated in the comfort of their homes, where they can also be handled by family members
• This allows luxury to the elderly, to choose the day and time of vaccination.

Pre-vaccination planning for vaccination of homebound persons

Providers vaccinating homebound persons should carefully pre-plan to understand how they can most efficiently prevent vaccine wastage and ensure safe and effective vaccination by:

• Estimating number of doses needed as accurately as possible
• Plan to use all doses in a vial transported for home vaccination to minimize wasting vaccine doses, such as having contingency plans for vaccination of caregivers, or other persons in the home.
• Providing information in a variety of accessible formats (e.g., American Sign Language, multiple languages, braille, large font, low literacy, materials with pictures or visual cues)
• Mapping out travel plans to ensure vaccine is utilized within the approved time frames for use of vaccine at different temperatures, including factoring in pre-vaccination preparation time, and post-vaccination observation time.
• Ensuring readiness to maintain, monitor, and report temperature of the vaccine from the time vaccine is taken out of a clinical facility, during transportation, and up to the time the vaccine is administered.

It is essential that home health care professionals receive effective training to meet demands of their roles. They should get proper guidance for storage, handling, preparation, and administration of each COVID-19 vaccine product. Home health care professionals as well as non-clinical staff, administering COVID-19 vaccines should be knowledgeable about requirements and best practices.

Staff should be thoroughly trained for accessibility-specific issues, such as working with people who are blind or have limited vision; those who are deaf or hard of hearing; those who work with service animals; and those with various language, physical, social, or sensory needs.

Role of HHAs during the Covid-19, Delta variant outbreak

As our nation confronts COVID-19; the Delta outbreak is a more infectious strain of Coronavirus that continues to spread across the U.S. The home health community is working aggressively to protect patients, home health care providers, and communities. As an industry of highly skilled professionals caring for vulnerable populations with multiple chronic conditions, home health agencies are uniquely qualified to play an active role in treating individuals diagnosed with COVID-19. Especially with increased hospitalizations, frontline staff are trained for crucial aftercare of patients as per government norms.

Agencies are geared with experience and learning from challenges encountered last year during the COVID-19 outbreak. They are better prepared with strategic planning, trained staff, vaccination drives and well-defined execution this time, ensuring the safety of both, Home health staff and patients.

Home Health Notify(HHN) is a HIPAA compliant Communication platform that easily works with all EMRs

HHN is tailor-built by a Home Health Agency for the Home Health Industry. Real-time data and interactive communication are key to efficient clinicians and physicians leading to satisfied patients. The App is a shared platform between the entire team.

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