We are thrilled about the number of submissions received for this year's Impact Prize, and even more excited to find out who the winners will be!  The big announcement will come at our annual Expo on June 23rd.  Hope to see you there!

As we have done in previous months, we are continuing to make available a new set of useful features and functions to users of AWARDS.  As always, this round of upgrades is provided free of charge to all AWARDS users and is described below.  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask your local Help Desk or your Foothold Client Services representative.  We hope these enhancements improve the way you use AWARDS and provide services!

Deployment:  June 1, 2016

BillingBuilder - "SSN" Variable Added to the BillingBuilder ReportBuilder

A consumer social security number option, labeled SSN, has been added to the Demographics portion of the BillingBuilder ReportBuilder's data variable selection page. When this data variable is selected, the report contents will include consumer social security number information.

BillingBuilder - HCFA-1500 and UB-04 Updates

In an effort to reduce the number of HCFA-1500 and/or UB-04 paper claims forms being printed for payers still requiring paper claims, there is a new Configure Payers option called Multiple Invoices on HCFA-1500 and UB-04 Per Consumer. Additionally, data reporting options have also been made to allow for more flexibility in ensuring proper data is submitted in the UB-04 paper claim form.

BillingBuilder - NYS ACT Invoice Date Change

To maintain compatibility with individual payer requirements, we have made a change to how invoice dates are assigned to ACT invoices for providers in New York State; specifically, within the Configure Billing Types screen for a "Medicaid" payer > ACT billing type, the field labeled Monthly billing primary invoices invoice date will dictate which invoice date is assigned to ACT invoices. By default, this setting will be set to "The first date of the next month" as this was how AWARDS was assigning the ACT invoice dates prior to this change.  If your agency needs to have the invoice date assigned differently, please select the correct option from that drop-down.

Block Login Access - Batch Disabling

The Block Login Access tool found under Administration > System Setup > Login Maintenance will now enable users with access to it to disable multiple user logins at once.  To block access for multiple consecutive users in the available selection list, press <SHIFT>, click the first name in the series, and then click the last name in the series. To block access for multiple non-consecutive users in the available selection list, press <CTRL> and click each name.

Calendar - Initial View

Previously, the Calendar - whether opened via the AWARDS Home page or the Services module - would automatically display your appointments and events for the current week and next week by default.  Because most users immediately change those default settings to meet their needs, and as part of ongoing efforts to increase the speed with which the Calendar page loads, the following changes have been made:

• The Calendar will now only display the settings at the top of the page with no default appointments or events shown.  To view the Calendar data itself, adjust the Calendar settings (if needed - the same defaults will be pre-selected as always), and then click DISPLAY CALENDAR - a new button located under the settings table.  (This button replaces Refresh, previously found on the right-hand side of the page.)
• If, once the Calendar is displayed, you change the settings used, those changes are no longer applied automatically as they were previously; instead, you must click REFRESH CALENDAR.  (Note that if the View or Scope settings are changed the Calendar display is temporarily removed from the page, at which point you must click DISPLAY CALENDAR to apply your settings and view appointment and event information again.)

ReportBuilder Enhancements

As part of our ongoing efforts to make AWARDS ReportBuilders as useful and user-friendly as possible, we are instituting the following changes:

• Demographics ReportBuilder - New "Foothold - Missing Address or Phone" Saved Report Format - This report displays a list of clients with missing address and/or phone data, broken out by program. It is useful for new programs and agencies interested in ensuring complete census data entry.  For agencies who use E-Labs and/or E-Prescribing, address and phone values must be entered on a client's face sheet in order to access those systems. If any of the required information is not present, you will receive a pop-up notifying you that one or more of these required fields are missing. The missing data will need to be entered before proceeding with either of these functions. This saved format can be used to audit records prior to using E-Prescribing and E-Labs.
• Demographics and HMIS ReportBuilders - Destination/New Residence Setting Label Changes - For clarity and consistency, the Demographic ReportBuilder's New Residence Setting data variable has been relabeled Destination to match the field label on the Discharge form in data entry mode. Additionally, the HMIS ReportBuilder's Outcome Category data variable has been relabeled Destination Category, also for consistency.
• Diagnostic Tests ReportBuilder - New "Foothold - Results Received Today" Saved Report Format - This report was designed for agencies that submit electronic lab orders via AWARDS. It uses dynamic date filtering to show a list of lab test results received "today." Any user with access to the Diagnostic Test module, regardless of their ability to order electronic labs, may view this report.
• HMIS ReportBuilder - New "Foothold Data Quality Report – Chronically Homeless v4 (adults + child HoH)" Saved Report Format - This report was designed as a variant of "Foothold Data Quality Report – Chronically Homeless v4," an existing report that will stay unchanged. The new report helps identify heads of household and other adults within the household that need to have the Chronically Homeless component questions answered, and leaves off the children in households for whom the questions do not get asked or answered.

A lot is happening in the world of HMIS.  Last month communities submitted their Housing Inventory Charts and Point In Time Reports. Now the attention shifts to preparing for the CoC Application and the upcoming Data Standards changes. The CoC Application (also referred to as the NOFA Application) is expected to be released in the next two months and HMIS data will play a major role in this year's application. Not only are HMIS participation and Data Quality important, but this year there is a new focus on the System Performance Measures.  

Within most AWARDS databases, agencies have set up training/test program(s) to mimic the workflow, look, and feel of their real programs.  These training/test programs are a safe place in which you can experiment, test, and train without being worried about how it might affect your live data. There are a number of ways in which training/test programs can work to your agency’s advantage:

• If your agency is still in the process of implementing AWARDS, these programs can be used as a way to get accustomed to the software before any of your live data is entered.  Anything that can be done in your live program, such as processing an admission or creating service plans can be tried within your training/test programs which can help you prepare and practice.
• Very often we find that as an agency's knowledge of AWARDS expands, so does their curiosity regarding the software's capabilities.  Once again the best place to try out something new is in a training/test program.  For example, if you just created a form using FormBuilder and want to test it, it is always best practice to do so in a training/test program. This will prevent inadvertently entering data from a real client record into a form that may not be finished. Working in these programs also allows you to tryout a new function that your agency may be interested in using.
• As the program name implies, a training/test program is the ideal location to train new staff on how to use AWARDS.  Giving staff the ability to practice navigating through AWARDS in the training/test program is an excellent way for them to become familiar with the software and reduce the risk of error before they have to enter data into live programs.
• Training/test programs are also invaluable if you are a member of your agency's internal Help Desk.  Whether you want to troubleshoot an issue or replicate something that a user is experiencing, the training/test programs afford you the ability to assess the issue without working within a real client's record.

When working with training/test programs  in your AWARDS database, it can be helpful to keep in mind the following:

• When, while running reports, you select any combined program option (for example, "All Agency Programs"), the data from all training/test programs is automatically excluded from the results. You don't have to be concerned that information entered into those programs will interfere with your reportable data!
• There are a few areas within AWARDS where entering data into a training/test program will carry-over into the rest of your database.  For instance, if you create a fake referral source in a training/test program, whether during the Intake/Admission process or within Service Referrals located in the Services Module, that referral source is saved and will appear in the drop-down for your entire agency.  The same is true when adding a new hospital in the Hospital Module; that list is shared throughout your entire database, including training/test programs.  Likewise, when Employer information is entered in the Employment module, it is saved at the agency level and is not program specific, so fake Employer data entered via a training/test program will be viewable in all programs.  And one final place where information entered into a training/test program will appear throughout your database can be found within Group Schedule Setup.  Any Group Types added to the Activity List, whether added in a "live" program or a training/test program, will appear as an option for any program using Group Schedule Setup functionality.   

As you can see, working within your agency's training/test programs can be extremely useful in many ways.  If you would like to create a new training/test program you can do so by contacting your Client Services representative or the Foothold Help Desk for assistance. If contacting Foothold's Help Desk, make sure to provide the exact information about what type of training/test program(s) you would like to have set up. (For example, "Please create a Training Program that mimics the Community Living Program within our database.") 

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