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In this issue:
User's Conference Tickets on Sale!
FootholdConnect Events
What's New in AWARDS
This Month in HMIS
Tip of the Month - Who You Gonna Call? (The Local Help Desk!)
Foothold News & Blog
User's Conference Tickets On Sale!
NYU Kimmel Center, New York City
Thursday, July 11, 2019
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Eastern
Our 12th annual User’s Conference will build on last year's back to school theme with a focus on the ever-changing landscape of care. Attendees will deepen their knowledge of AWARDS and walk away with the tools to strengthen their agency. By becoming a better AWARDS user, you will understand how to use and leverage your data to operate more efficiently, increase partnerships and develop metrics to support growth.
This year sees the return of our virtual conference experience. In an effort to make the User's Conference as accessible to you as possible, the virtual conference is a way for you to attend sessions without leaving the comfort and convenience of your desk.
For a full listing of this year’s sessions and to purchase tickets, click here. Save 33% off the price of tickets when you send five or more people!
If you have any questions about the User’s Conference, please email [email protected].
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For more information on upcoming FootholdConnect events, please go to FootholdConnect on the AWARDS Home screen's navigation bar, or visit the Upcoming Events page of the Foothold Technology web site. And don't forget... If you've missed any recent FootholdConnect events, you can access the recordings for those in Online Help here!
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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 reach out to the Help Desk. We hope these enhancements improve the way you use AWARDS and provide services!
Deployment Date: 5/8/19
BillingBuilder - Additional Audit Trail Information
The AWARDS Audit Trail ReportBuilder now includes the following actions completed by users in BillingBuilder:
Future Billings menu > deleting a future record
Manual Payments/Adjustments menu - posting a payment or an adjustment to an invoice, or when a payment or adjustment is not posted to an invoice
Pending/Expiring Receivables Report > posting an adjustment to an invoice
BillingBuilder - Monthly Billing Start Date Flexibility
An enhancement to monthly billing types has been made which allows an agency to indicate a start date for their monthly billing when the billing for the month does not start on the first day of the month. In Configure Billing Types, a new First Date of the Billing Month/Period drop-down option has been added and -will be set to "1" by default, indicating the first date of the month. This new field is only available when the Billing Unit Type is set to "Monthly."
In addition to the new First Date of the Billing Month/Period option, we have also moved the existing fields Monthly billing primary invoices invoice date and Monthly billing add on invoices invoice date to the top of the Configure Billing Types page.
Client History Report - Now Includes Documents Uploaded to the Client File Cabinet
In order to maintain the Client History Report as a central point of access for a client's chart, we have added documents uploaded to the Client File Cabinet to the report timeline. For these documents, the report's "Event Details" column includes the file name and the name of the person who uploaded the document, and a link to the uploaded document itself is available in the "Event Type" column.
Medications - New Format
The Medical > Medications 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). In addition, users now have the ability to select Archives on the index page to display a list of discharged clients in the Client selection list.
New Fields and Options added - The following fields have been added or edited:
Medication Expiration Date - This new field has been added to the medication data entry page. For agencies that do not wish to capture this data, it can be hidden at the program type level.
RxNorm - This new field has been added to the medication entry page and auto populates with the RxNorm code of the medication and strength entered on the page. RxNorm is a unique identifier for medication name, strength, and unit used for AWARDS Certified Edition use cases such as interoperability and quality measures. This field will be in read-only for e-prescribed medications or those that have administration records associated with them. For all other records, while the code pre-populates, it remains in data entry for editing if the user wishes to make any changes. A link to the RXNav medication search tool appears next to the field name, which opens the national RXNav database to allow users to search for a more specific RxNorm code if desired. For agencies that do not wish to capture this data, it can be hidden at the program type level.
Key Code - Agencies now have the ability to determine which key code should be selected by default when entering administrations using the redesigned MAR form (described below). The default key code value is applied to all agency programs using the MAR.
To make a configuration request for any of these fields, please contact the Help Desk following the May 8th deployment.
New link to Providers - For agencies using the Providers feature, an "Add New" option is now available in the Prescribing Physician drop-down, which opens a window where users can add a new provider to a client's record without leaving the medication data entry page.
Sub-indexes - Once a medication record is saved, Pharmacy Order and Administration Records sub-indexes are available on the left-hand menu, which open each sub-index respectively for the selected medication. (Note that based on agency configurations, the administration index may use a different label.)
New MAR format - With this deployment, agencies that are set up to use the multi-medication administration data entry form will see a MAR link on the medication index for a selected client. (The previous MAR location on the Medical fly-out menu has been removed and replaced with this link.) The new MAR link opens a new version of the administration data entry form that can be filtered by "Scheduled" or "Unscheduled" medications. New error messages have been added to this page to alert users of out of range administrations, duplicate administrations and different dosage selections. As before, the ability to record a single medication administration can be accessed through the Medication > Administration record sub-index > Add New. For more information using this feature, click here to view the related training film.
Action icons moved - The Edit, View, Delete, InfoButton, and Add New icons have been moved to an action bar above the index. Radio buttons are displayed next to each medication record to allow users to select which record they would like to take action on. Clicking on an individual record from the index also opens 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) or a specific column.
"Show Records" display options - By default the index displays all current medications for the selected client (meaning an end date is not entered or it is in the future). To expand or limit the display, use the selection options under "Show Records" in the left-hand menu. Available options are: "All," "Available for Deletion" (for those with permission), and "Current."
Links on the left-hand menu - Based on your agency's configuration, a combination of the following links are available on the left-hand menu of the Medications index:
Medications ReportBuilder - Opens the Medications ReportBuilder. (The hard-coded basic Medications Report, should be accessed via the Reports feature.)
Medication Lookup - Opens RxList (or a separate tab configured by your agency). (The link name and URL it opens can vary based on agency settings.)
MAR - For agencies set to use the multi-medication administration feature, opens the MAR data entry page.
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.
Password Reset - Show Discharged Consumer Logins
A new Show Discharged Consumer Logins option has been added to the Password Reset feature that allows users to reset passwords for discharged consumer logins. Consumers with logins should maintain access to their records after discharge, however there are circumstances where an agency may need to reset or disable access to the login. When the new checkbox is selected, users can select any full year discharge window to add discharged consumer logins to the user list so their passwords can be reset.
Progress Notes E-Signatures Configuration - New Features
We've developed two new features for agencies that have transitioned to the Progress Notes E-Signatures Configuration feature. These enhancements include:
A signing window option is now available for all signer types - When a value is entered in the Signing Window field, the individual must sign the progress note within the number of days entered based on the note date. Once the note's date is no longer within the signing window specified, it cannot be electronically signed by the signer type for whom the signing window was configured.
A new Lock Employee Drop-Down is available if a Default Signer Role is selected when configuring employee signatures - When Lock Employee Drop-Down is set to "Yes" an employee listed as the default signer on the progress note cannot be changed when entering or signing the note.
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More details about the upcoming 2019 Data Standards have been released and we will be hosting a session at our User's Conference this July to explain all the changes. One of the main changes is the inclusion of Coordinated Entry data elements. Along with these changes, a new Coordinated Entry APR will be coming out in 2020.
We've also learned more about HUD's new visualization tool for the LSA. They are calling this new tool "Stella" and she will be released this summer. For now, work continues on the LSA report. HUD has released many minor fixes over the past few weeks to address some of the issues that have been brought to their attention and we are continuing to update AWARDS with the latest changes. A new release date has not yet been set for the final LSA submission but it is expected to be later this month so that CoCs can shift their focus to the NOFA application process.
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Tip of the Month - Who You Gonna Call? (The Local Help Desk!)
Have you got a question, a problem, or maybe an enhancement request? Your agency's local AWARDS Help Desk is a great resource for all things AWARDS. The AWARDS Help Desk works in conjunction with the AWARDS Messages module to enable users to report AWARDS-related problems and to ask questions about the application for which solutions or answers could not be located in the Online Help system. If your local Help Desk members need additional assistance, they will reach out to us at Foothold.
If you don't know who is on your agency's local Help Desk team, go to the navigation bar > Help > Help Desk. On the Help Desk form that is displayed you'll see your local Help Desk's team members listed under "To."
The Help Desk form also includes a phone field if you’d like your local Help Desk team to contact you. Please note that phone #'s are for local Help Desk use only. Foothold Technology's Help Desk will only contact users through the Messages module in AWARDS.
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Check out the latest in Foothold news and recent entries from the Foothold blog!
Did you miss our recent webinar Advocating for an Inclusive Workforce: Supported Employment (Part 2)? Click here to watch the recording.
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https://demodb.footholdtechnology.com/help/?12269
