The following new features, enhancements, and updates will be available in your AWARDS database beginning on Wednesday, January 13th.  

A new One Row Per Attendee option has been added to the Calendar Events ReportBuilder, which allows for even easier and more flexible reporting on attendees for events that have multiple clients (like groups) and multiple staff (like staff events and training).  This new option enables you to run reports on calendar events for each staff and client attendee.  The following features have also been added to the Calendar ReportBuilder, specifically for use with the One Row Per Attendee option:

  From the ReportBuilder Settings page, you can limit which records are included by client and/or worker using the Limit by Client/Worker checkbox, as well as limit results by clients and/or workers who were active using the Client/Worker Date Range filter.

  When the report is run using the One Row Per Attendee option, the ReportBuilder Options page displays three new sections to give you even more data options: Attendee Information, Client Demographics, and Staff Information.

  Important note for saved report formats - With the introduction of the One Row Per feature, the Client (Last, First) and Client ID options are only available when reporting on One Row Per Attendee for client attendees. One Row Per Event offers the Client Attendees option, which displays a comma separated list of client names, similar to Staff Attendees.  Adjustments will be made accordingly to saved formats in your database. Any saved report formats containing Client (Last, First) will automatically update to use Client Attendees in its place. Client ID will be removed from any saved reports, as applicable. These fields can now be found in the One Row Per Attendee view, and saved formats can be created there to report on Attendee information. We're also working on new saved formats that will be made available during this deployment.  

  The Calendar Events ReportBuilder will still have the "One Row Per Event" option selected by default, along with the standard filter and display options you're used to from other AWARDS ReportBuilders.

For Central Intake programs the following usability and reporting enhancements will now be available to staff. 

  New face sheet table displaying referrals and placements - This new table displays beneath the face sheet's Select Program for Placement option.  Details include destination program name(s), referral status, and admission date if the client has been admitted.  Reflects both current and past placements.

  Central Intake report now displaying referrals made - The Central Intake report now provides detail on all completed placements (admissions) and referrals, including those to which the user does not have chart access.  Results in a more complete picture of activity in that it will now show those placements that could not be completed because the staff member did not have program access.

A new Download icon will now be available on the report results page for the Agency, Client, and Employee File Cabinet Reportbuilders.  Using this new option staff can download files directly from any of the File Cabinet ReportBuilders.

The Incident Type option can now be set so that a selection is required during incident data entry.  If you're interested in having this requirement put in place, please submit a request to the Help Desk.  Keep in mind that this configuration happens on the program type level, so be sure to include in your request a list of the program types for which it is applicable.

When using a ReportBuilder's Summary table options, a new Show Each Value's Percentage of Group Total checkbox will now be available.  When the ReportBuilder's Grouped by feature is used, the Grouping Levels Display is set to "Columns," and this new option is checked off, the summary table contents will include not just the values themselves, but also the percentage of the total represented by each value.  This is an exciting change that will provide more in depth insights into your system's data at a glance.

As 2020 came to a close, the Product and Engineering Team turned their attention to the process of determining the key development projects for 2021. We are excited to share here the five "Big Rocks" Foothold has set as our AWARDS development goals this year - all aimed at delivering value to you, our customers. While there will still be other projects going on throughout the year, the five goals summarized below will be the driving force behind the work of the Product and Engineering Team.  

#1 AWARDS Redesign

With a Product Designer on board, a key focus this year will involve enhancing the User Interface (UI) - look and feel, along with the User Experience (UX) - workflow, of AWARDS. This will be a long term, iterative process, and one we are excited to get underway. As this work progresses and we have more details to share, we will provide updates here. 

#2 BillingBuilder Rebuild

We understand that our customers are constantly facing new and evolving requirements, at a rapid pace, especially as it relates to billing. As such, the BillingBuilder Rebuild will aim to change the foundation of the module so that it can more easily adapt to your changing and growing needs, thereby improving the way you are able to manage your critical billing work. This will clearly be a large, time-intensive and iterative project, and we are excited to kick it off this year.   

#3 Data Lake

As the Behavioral Healthcare industry moves more towards a world of Data Analytics, we have begun efforts to implement a Foothold Data Lake, which is backed by an Industry leading Cloud Data Platform. The Foothold Data Lake will provide a secure, scalable, high performing and sustainable solution for storing, analyzing and exporting AWARDS data, backed by an easy to understand data dictionary. This work began at the tail end of 2020 and will carry on through 2021.  

#4 CURES Act / FHIR

To remain a federally certified EHR vendor, which in turn allows all of you to meet requirements from your funders and regulatory bodies, we will be developing the features needed to meet the CURES Act requirements. The key components of this work include updates to the Common Clinical Data Sets (CCDS), enhancements to data export capabilities, and a focus on API’s (Application Programming Interface) using FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources).

#5 AWARDS Cloud Migration

A theme of our "Big Rocks" this year is the drive to become more nimble, which in turn will allow us to reduce the time to market for new features. A key piece of this work is the critical process of migrating AWARDS from the servers we currently host, to instead reside in the Cloud. While this may sound scary for end users, the reality is it will be seamless and invisible on your end. The end result will be improvements all around in what and how we are able to build out new enhancements in AWARDS.

This section of FootNotes is dedicated to bringing you up to speed on great AWARDS add-ons you may not be aware of!  Each of these add-ons is available on a subscription basis.  Some are also included in the AWARDS Pro and/or Premium packages.

Interoperability - Connected Client Data Means More Comprehensive Care

Interoperability has made a meaningful impact for many Foothold customers, their consumers and communities. We want to help agencies that aren't using or haven't fully implemented interoperability understand the impact it can make at their agencies.  If this sounds like you, we encourage you to learn more today!

Did you know...

...that you can adjust your Calendar settings for a more customized experience? Here are five features you might not be aware of that can help make the AWARDS Calendar your own and improve your overall experience:

  Expand the Calendar view - Want to see a little more space on the page? Try collapsing/expanding the left-hand settings menu for a larger display. 

  Show weekends - By default the Calendar excludes weekends but you can show/hide them at any time by adjusting your individual user settings.

  Make event blocks stand out - By default, all event blocks are displayed shaded in light green with black text. By adjusting your individual user settings, you can customize event block and text colors based on event type.

  Easily switch to a single day view - By clicking on a specific date from the Week, Month, or List view, you will be taken to the Day view for that selected date.

  Easily see kept events - Events that have been marked as "Kept" or "Held" will display a green check icon right in the event block. No more opening the modal window to see the event status.

Did you know that Foothold offers quarterly Help Desk calls where your agency can connect one-on-one with experienced members of the Support Team?  These calls are informal, typically last about an hour, and are tailored for you and your team.  We don’t intend for these calls to be live support sessions, but rather a chance to take a top-down look at how your agency supports AWARDS and the role the Foothold Help Desk can play in that effort.  A typical call agenda covers:

  Updates on any current Help Desk requests

  Discussions about recent issues/trends/challenges

  New AWARDS features

  How does your Help Desk work?

  Open Q & A

The year 2021 brings us a new administration, and with that, new leaders and initiatives. Join Senior Advisor David Bucciferro as he takes a brief initial look at what we might be able to expect in the world of Behavioral Health under the incoming administration.

It is likely too early in the transition process to know exactly what we can expect as far as the long-term agenda of the new administration, but it is safe to assume that 4 key areas will be addressed fairly early on:

  Protection of the ACA

  Additional COVID 19 assistance for education, states (which we can all hope will include money for human service providers) and individual stimulus money

  Medicaid reforms

  Parity

We can also hopefully expect to see some attention given to the Opioid Crisis, above and beyond COVID efforts, along with Medicaid changes and various healthcare initiatives that will have bi-partisan support.

At this point, it has been announced that the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) nominee is State Attorney General Xavier Becerra of California.  Although there are many names being bantered about for the various agency leadership positions, it is expected that the administration-elect will make sure that Mr. Becerra has adequate time to evaluate potential candidates before any firm nominations are made. Traditionally the HHS director is named before the agency leadership positions for CMS, ONC, DEA, and others. As we hear more about these leadership roles, we will share information with all of you regarding who the nominees are and what agendas we expect them to bring forward. 

The President-elect is known to have been a friend of behavioral health in the past, and there is every reason to expect that this support will continue moving forward. Early on, we will be keeping watch for executive orders and attempts to develop bi-partisan efforts at reforms, such as lower drug pricing and transparency in healthcare billing.

As we learn more, we will continue to share with you. Until then, let's make 2021 a great year!

Implementing a new EHR system can be overwhelming, time-consuming and challenging on a good day. Embarking on this work during a global pandemic, facing a backdrop of program closures, funding gaps, and serious health and safety concerns for staff and clients, can be downright impossible. OHI of Maine managed to conquer all of these challenges and with the help of their Foothold Implementation Consultant, succeeded in an agency-wide AWARDS implementation during an incredibly challenging period.