Over the years, we have learned that while many of our customers understand HIPAA and the importance of data and electronic security, many more simply haven't been able to give it the time and attention it needs. As we hear more and more about wide scale data breaches at some of the largest companies and governments worldwide, we think it is time for Foothold to start a new initiative around assisting our clients on all matters related to electronic security. When it comes to HIPAA and data security in general, your organization and Foothold must work together. The fact that Foothold is among the most secure EHR companies on the market is meaningless if your employees leave their passwords on a yellow post-it note on their computers. We must work together to hold up both ends of this relationship because a security system is only as good as its weakest link. 

To that end, we've started a new Data Security Initiative to assist our clients in making AWARDS -- and the data it holds -- the most secure system in the behavioral health world. To begin this initiative, we are launching a series of webinars hosted by us, where you can meet and learn from the security company we use, GreyCastle Security. GreyCastle Security is currently providing compliance and cybersecurity consulting and support to teaching hospitals, regional medical centers, health systems, HIEs, mental health facilities, healthcare analytics providers, Covered Entities (CEs) and Business Associates (BAs) throughout North America. They are one of the most respected companies in the Cyber Security market, and we are pleased to introduce them to you.

Service Documentation Enhancements

With the January deployments, users will see some changes to the way Start Time, End Time, and Duration are documented throughout AWARDS. Currently, these fields work differently across the various areas where services are documented - Progress Notes, Supportive Services Checklist, Daily Checklist, and Groups documentation. The upcoming changes will make things more consistent across these different areas, as well as provide additional flexibility. Changes users should expect include:

• Start Time, End Time, and Duration fields will be relabeled, and field order will be changed to place the fields in that particular order
• Time fields will be reformatted 
• Daily Checklists that are configured to include a Duration data entry field will also automatically include a Start Time field
• A new option will be available to determine which of these three fields are data entry fields vs. calculated fields; for example, Progress Notes could have data entry fields for Start Time and End Time, and have Duration be the calculated field

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:  November 23, 2016

MAR Enhancements

• Diagnosis Codes and Diagnosis Text Fields Now Available - When "Table" view is selected, Diagnosis Codes and Diagnosis Text display in the Demographics portion of the MAR Options page. When selected, this information displays on the left side of the MAR along with Name and Diagnosis Information.

Medical Info - New Design Applied

The Medical module's Medical Info 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 Medical Info data entry page, allowing users to make these selections without jumping back. Once a client is selected, the form will refresh and display data for that individual. 
• Breadcrumbs - Clickable breadcrumbs appear at the top of the page to easily move back to a previous page. 
• Action Icons - The Edit and View icons are available on an action bar that appears above the form.
• FormBuilder Dynamic Section Renamed - The dynamic section that corresponds to the Medical Info feature has been renamed "Medical Info" for improved clarity. The previous name was "Medication Detail Information."

AHAR season is drawing to an end. Continuums of Care have just one week left to submit their data for the Annual Homeless Assessment Report. We've made several tweaks over the past month to correct minor discrepancies, as well as releasing the new "Error Report" column in the Individual Details. If you haven't re-run your AHAR in a while it may be a good idea to check the report one last time before the final submission deadline on December 1st. 

With AHAR wrapping up, communities can return to the work of establishing and refining their Coordinated Entry Systems. As you can read about above we just released some enhancements to the Waiting List functionality to make it even more useful.  We are also hard at work preparing for a series of Central Intake projects. The first project will enhance and simplify the way Intake Cloning works. We will also be enhancing the "New Residence Setting" option at Discharge so that you can go directly from discharge to intake for clients who are simply switching projects. 

With Thanksgiving here, it's a good time to remember that all of the work you're doing and all of the data you're collecting does serve a purpose. When you think with dread of all the hours spent entering data and pulling reports such as the Annual Homeless Assessment Report, just remember that these reports do actually make a difference in convincing Congress to allocate money for homeless programs. Your hard work makes a direct impact into the lives of the clients you serve, so this Thanksgiving we're thankful for you.

Did you know that various AWARDS modules provide you with Consumer View access, which you can use to quickly navigate to a Consumer's Face Sheet, Progress Notes, Service Plans, Charting Timetable, and more?

Accessing Consumer View from Consumer Search Results

One of the easiest ways to navigate to Consumer View is via the results of a Consumer Search from within the AWARDS Navigation bar. After conducting a search, the results page is displayed. There, click on the available hyperlink (either the person's name or the program name depending on your database setup); for instance:

The Consumer Information page is then displayed:

On this page, you can quickly navigate to a consumer's Face Sheet, Progress Notes Editing Index, Entitlements, Hospitalization records, and more.  

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