Save money and purchase your Expo 2017 tickets today!  Early bird ticket prices end on May 1st.

We know that our providers do outstanding work with AWARDS, and that ingenuity and commitment to using the software raises client services and agency operations to a higher level.

Tell us about the most impactful, inspirational things you've accomplished using AWARDS. We'll reward the most innovative achievements with a cash prize and a trip to our 2017 Expo in New York City!

Demographics Fields Updates

In order to keep AWARDS up-to-date and federally certified, we are busily preparing for a new round of Meaningful Use certification. As part of this work, we are required to make changes to some key demographic fields. Specifically, Race, Ethnicity, Primary Language, and Gender will all see some modifications. These modifications will be globally deployed in May. The changes around Gender will be the most comprehensive, and will offer much more flexibility than exists today. We are very excited about these changes, as they address requests we have heard from many of you. But as these modifications will change how current Gender related data displays in AWARDS, it is important for you and all the other AWARDS users at your agency to understand the upcoming changes. 

In short, here is what you can expect regarding existing AWARDS fields/options:

• Race - If not already configured as such in your database, this option will be modified to be a multi-select list, and to include a new "Declined to Specify" selection.
• Ethnicity - If not already configured as such in your database, this option will be modified to include a new "Declined to Specify" selection.
• Primary Language - If not already configured as such in your database, this option will be modified to include a new "Declined to Specify" selection.
• Gender - Will be relabeled as Sex at Birth. Existing data will be mapped to the appropriate new selection options. Upon deployment of the changes, this field will be hidden. An Optional Enhancement document will be available, allowing agencies to opt into having this field display after deployment.

Additionally, the following new fields/options will be added:

• Sexual Orientation - Upon deployment of the changes, this field will be hidden. An Optional Enhancement document will be available, allowing agencies to opt into having this field display after deployment.
• Gender Identity - Data will be mapped accordingly from the old Gender field. This option will replace the old Gender data variable in all AWARDS reports that pull in "Gender." It will be turned on globally for all upon deployment, and will be required. An Optional Enhancement document will be available allowing agencies to modify both the field label and selection list. 

In the upcoming April FootNotes, we will include a quick reference guide to assist you in your process of preparing staff for these changes. And later on in April, we will be providing a brief training video as well as a related Optional Enhancements document.

HMIS

Several new HMIS projects are coming later this month.  These changes include a new HMIS Data Quality Report, updates to the HUD CoC APR, and an updated version of the PATH Annual Report Survey.  

• HMIS Data Quality Report - A brand new report is being created which will use several metrics to rate the quality of data in HMIS projects.  The report will look at six areas: 1) missing and invalid Personally Identifiable Information, 2) missing and invalid Universal Data Elements, 3) missing and invalid Destination and Income data, 4) missing Chronic Homelessness related records, 5) the timeliness of data entry, and 6) the number of inactive street outreach and emergency shelter records.
• The New HUD CoC APR which was released last year is being updated before it's even had a chance to be used.  The updated APR will incorporate the new Data Quality Report mentioned above, as well as several minor changes including the removal of performance measures questions.  The new report will include a read-only Sage Export file that will work with HUD's new Sage HMIS Reporting Repository.  
• The PATH Annual Report Survey (ARS) is being updated with several new questions.  The new report is designed to work with PATH's new two-program model where some clients are admitted into a PATH Services project and some clients are admitted into a PATH Outreach project all based upon the Type of Residence where they had been residing at the time of their first encounter.  

Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) - NY State

For New York State providers, OASAS has revised many of the PAS forms, and the new versions go into effect April 1.  In AWARDS, program admissions, discharges, and transfers dated April 1 onward will include some new items on the admission and discharge pages, as well as on the related PAS-44, 45, and 47 forms.  In conjunction, we'll also be releasing Version 5.1 of the Batch File for those of you who do batch submissions from AWARDS to CDS.  

Alongside these changes, also on March 31st we'll be deploying the first set of enhancements to accommodate the new 820 residential program model, into which some agencies are beginning to transition.  These include tracking client status in the new treatment/recovery elements and the resultant data on the existing PAS forms, as well as the new PAS-125 form, used to report on transitions between elements of care within a program.  

New Login Page Terms and Conditions Link

As part of ongoing security initiatives, a new Terms and Conditions of Use link has been added to the AWARDS login page.  By logging in, it is an implicit acknowledgement on the part of the user that he/she has read and understood these conditions, which are also provided here for your reference:

WARNING:  This information system is for official use by authorized users and is subject to being monitored and/or restricted at any time.  Unauthorized or improper use of this system may result in administrative disciplinary action and/or civil and criminal penalties.  The system contains data that is Protected Health Information as defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and its successor legislation.  By continuing to use this system, you indicate your awareness of, and consent to, these terms and conditions of use.  Do not log in if you are not an authorized user or you do not agree to the conditions stated here.

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 Date:  March 15, 2017

BillingBuilder - Cascading Authorizations for NJ DDD Programs

With the changing authorizations landscape in NJ for DDD supports services, new authorization functionality is available which will allow authorized units to be rolled over from week to week as needed.  This new authorization functionality - called Cascading Authorizations - can easily be turned on using the Use Cascading Insurance Authorizations option on the Configure Billing Types screen. 

Once the Cascading Authorizations feature is activated in the BillingBuilder, you will be able to select a Cascading Authorization option on the Authorization data entry page.  After you specify the Effective and Expiration date of an authorization, followed by the number of days in each period, AWARDS will generate the periods for you and you can enter the number of authorized units for each period.  This feature will track units documented and billed in each period in the authorization.  

BillingBuilder - Expansion of the Valid Diagnosis Field

The Valid Diagnosis DSM/ICD-10 Heading option has been expanded down into the Procedure Configuration page.  This addition to the billing procedures screen allows certain procedures to have their own valid ICD-10 code list.  This will help ensure that only the appropriate ICD-10 codes are submitted with the procedures invoice. 

Please note that there will still be a Valid Diagnosis DSM/ICD-10 filed on the Billing Types data entry screen.  If data is entered into the field on the Procedure Configuration page, it will override the data entered at the billing type level.  If data is not entered into the field on the Procedure Configuration page, then the setting from the Billing Type page will continue to apply.

Calendar - Deleting Past Appointments

Previously, requests to delete staff meetings or personal appointments on the Calendar had to be sent to the Foothold Help Desk to complete if they were scheduled for a date in the past.  Now, staff with the ability to edit Staff Meeting and Staff Personal appointments on the Calendar will have the ability to delete these appointments on their own. Specifically, when clicking on a Staff Meeting or Staff Personal appointment that was scheduled for a past date, a Delete button is now available at the bottom of the data entry page. Upon clicking Delete, the user will be asked to confirm that action before the appointment/event is removed from the Calendar.

A similar update has been made for Program Appointments, though in this case it is tied to a new permission; specifically, a new Delete Past Program Appointments exception override permission.  Users who are assigned this permission under System Setup > Permissions Maintenance will be able to delete program appointments that they have editing rights to, even if the appointment is scheduled for a date in the past. When a user with the permission clicks on a Program Appointment that is scheduled for a past date, a Delete button will be available at the bottom of the data entry page. Upon clicking Delete, the user will be asked to confirm that action before the appointment is removed from the Calendar.

Charting Timetable Audit Report - Calculation Change for Multi-Step Admission Programs

For those programs using the Intake feature as part of the multi-step admission process, the Days Since Last Due value on the Services > Charting Timetable > Audit Report for Selected Chart Event for Entire Program will now count days since admission if the client has been admitted, and days since intake if they are pending.  (Previously the intake date was used for this calculation in all cases, even if the client had since been admitted.)

Configure Data Element Changes - Default Value Options

The System Setup > Agency Program Information > Configure Data Elements feature used in HMIS databases to designate which data elements are shown, hidden, or required is being updated to allow greater flexibility in which types of programs can set "Default Values."  Until now, Street Outreach projects have been the only type of HMIS project that uses default values to simplify and speed up the admission process.  In Street Outreach projects, the Universal Data Elements defaulted to "Data Not Collected" and similar unknown values so that staff could skip past fields where information was unknown.  Now, this same functionality can be expanded to other types of HMIS projects using Configure Data Elements.  

For configurations saved on the "HMIS Project Type" or "Project" layers you will find check boxes labeled Default Value next to many data elements.  Checking these boxes will cause the admission or discharge form to open up with a default value already pre-populating new forms. When checked, the default values will work as follows:

• The default value for SSN is 999-99-9999.  
• The default value for Date of Birth is 1/1/1901, however this date can be changed with the accompanying text box.
• The default value for First Name is "Person," however this can be changed using the accompanying text box.
• The default values for Middle Name, Last Name, and Suffix are "Unknown," however these can be changed using the accompanying text boxes.
• The default value for Race, Ethnicity, and all other drop-down options is "Data Not Collected."  

If more than one client is admitted to a program using the default values for Name, SSN, and DOB, AWARDS will treat each client as a unique person and assign them separate AWARDS IDs. 

Most projects should avoid using the default values entirely so that data quality is kept as complete as possible; however, this new flexibility will be important for call centers, coordinated entry systems, nightly emergency shelters, point-in-time projects, and street outreach projects which often are not able (or even required) to collect all data until a client engages with the project. 

Diet Information - Enhancements

For those programs configured to use the optional Diet Information feature in the Medical module, the following improvements have been made to make the functionality more user-friendly:

• Default Records in Diet Information Data Entry Index - Previously the diet information record index in data entry mode defaulted to automatically displaying all existing diet records for a client, even if some of those records were no longer active.  Now the index defaults to displaying current records only.  To view the client's entire history rather than this default, use the new Show Records toggle on the left-hand menu and change the selection there to "All." 

Current records are those with no end date, an end date in the future, or an end date of today.

• Diet Information ReportBuilder Program Selection Option - Diet information records "belong" to a client rather than to a program; however, the Diet Information ReportBuilder contents are limited to individuals in a selected program.  Previously, the ReportBuilder settings page (when accessed from data entry mode) only inherited the program selection from the previous AWARDS page, but did not give users the opportunity to change that selection.  Now a Program selection list is available there for this purpose, just as it is if the ReportBuilder were accessed from Diet Information in report mode. 

Family Health History - New Format

The Medical > Family Health History feature now has a new look as we continue to develop the new navigation and usability of AWARDS. Changes to the feature include:

• Program and Client drop-downs - New Program and Client drop-downs have been added to the index page, allowing users to make these selections right on the index. Once a client is selected, the index will refresh and display records for that individual. These drop-downs will be in read-only mode while data entry is occurring within a record (either editing or creating a new record).
• Action icons moved - The Edit, View, Delete, and Add New icons/link have been moved to an action bar that appears above the index. Radio buttons appear next to each family health history record to allow users to select which record they would like to take action on. Clicking on an individual record from the index will also open the record in data entry/edit mode.
• Search field added - A new Search field also appears on the action bar, which allows users to quickly search the contents of the index. A Filter By drop-down list compliments the Search field, allowing users to search the contents of "All Columns" (the default), "Relationship," and “Condition” column.
• Link to ReportBuilder added - A link to the Family Health History ReportBuilder has been added to the index, on the left side bar.  

Other updates to the design include improved navigation tools, such as clickable breadcrumbs at the top of the page, an action bar on data entry pages, and improved index pagination.

HUD has announced that their new Sage HMIS Report Repository is now open and will begin taking APR submissions starting on April 1st.  This new system will replace the eSNAPS system that has been used for many years.  Along with this new reporting system, HUD is making several changes to the CoC APR, including the creation of a brand new Data Quality report which will replace the data quality tables in the APR.  You can read more about these changes under "Project Pipeline," above.  Most importantly, this new Sage reporting system will not allow manual data entry of the APR.  Communities must run their APR out of AWARDS/HMIS and use the new Sage Export file to upload into the Sage system.  This will generate a read-only zip file that gets uploaded directly into Sage.  The new APR, Sage Export files, a standalone version of the Data Quality Report, and an updated version of the PATH Annual Report Survey (ARS) will all be available on March 31st.  

While all of these mandatory changes are happening, we've also been hard at work on our Coordinated Entry projects.  This month we released some changes to the Configure Data Elements module to allow Coordinated Entry projects to start using the "Default Value" functionality that was previously limited to Street Outreach projects.  We made this project flexible enough that it can be used by more than just Coordinated Entry projects in case you have other programs such as Point-In-Time projects or 211/Call Center projects that can't collect all the Universal Data Elements.  

We are also in the midst enhancing FormBuilder functionality to allow FormBuilder data to be copied across divisions so that it will work in Central Intake projects and other Coordinated Entry Systems.  We are also adding FormBuilder to Outreach forms, and expanding the "Copy FormBuilder Data" button at Intake/Admission so that it will be able to copy formbuilder forms from other locations such as the Services menu, and Charting Timetables.  This project will likely be released in April.  Several other Coordinated Entry projects are also in development now and more details will be shared in future months.

Finally, registration is now open for the spring NHSDC Conference.  This conference is often of interest to HMIS Administrators and Continuum of Care staff, and is sure to have lots of great information.  Check out NHSDC.org for more information.  Meanwhile, registration is also open for our Foothold Expo conference in June, and this year we will be hosting several sessions dedicated to HMIS topics.

Did you know... For security purposes it's Foothold Technology's policy NOT to reset the username and/or password for any AWARDS user.  As a result, it's important that you:

1. Set your Security Details, including your security question and email address, so that you can reset your own information in the event you ever forget your username or password.

Check out the latest in Foothold news and recent entries from the Foothold blog!