Admission, Discharge, and Transfers Changes

Later this year, we will be releasing some changes aimed at enhancing the process of moving clients between programs, as well as improving data quality. Changes to expect include:

• In databases that use the Intake Cloning feature, a new Clone icon will be added to Client Search results. When used, the Clone icon will populate the Intake/Admission search results with the client's name and social security number. Additionally, we will be cleaning up the way Intake Cloning works with multi-step programs to make it easier to move clients between programs of different types.
• The Client Transfer feature will no longer be available for HMIS programs. HMIS rules require that all clients be discharged if they switch programs. As such, the AWARDS Transfer feature should not be utilized.
• The "New Housing Placement" feature that allows you to discharge a client directly into a new program will be modified. After processing the discharge, instead of automatically creating the referral into the selected program, it will take the user directly to the Intake/Admission form in the new program, where a new referral can be created and/or an admission can be processed. Users will no longer be able to admit clients into programs for which they do not have program chart access permissions - the drop-down will be limited to the programs to which they have access.

FormBuilder Enhancement

Currently in AWARDS, FormBuilder forms cannot be set as required. We are excited to announce that we are embarking on a project for a new FormBuilder feature that will allow for requiring forms to be completed before processing admission or discharge for forms that are placed on a multi-step Intake/Admission or the Discharge Menu. 

OASAS Form Updates

We have been listening! Many of our OASAS customers have been asking for E-Signatures on the various OASAS documentation screens in AWARDS. We are happy to report that we are currently working on a project to move the following four OASAS forms to the FormBuilder model - where they will be updated to include electronic signatures as well as reporting capability:

• Intake/Admission > Initial Determination (residential programs only)
• Intake/Admission > Admission Decision (residential programs only)
• Discharge > OASAS Discharge Plan
• Discharge > OASAS Referrals and Recommendations

And as per the FormBuilder Enhancement project noted above, these forms will be required prior to completing the admission and discharge data entry in AWARDS.

Meaningful Use 2015 Edition

The McSilver Institute has partnered with a group of New York State behavioral health providers and Electronic Health Record (EHR) vendors including Foothold Technology to design and launch a set of standardized reports for organizations to use to understand their census, service delivery strategy, and payer mix.  In close coordination with McSilver, Foothold developed four new features and saved report formats to satisfy the requirements of the project.  The key new features are:

• The ability to use multi-variable fields like Diagnoses and Entitlements in Summary Tables on the ReportBuilders (released in September)
• The ability to report across programs in Entitlements (available now)
• IMO Procedure and Code fields in Progress Notes (available by request)
• MCTAC defined category fields for Diagnoses and Services (available by request)

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:  October 19, 2016

Address Flexibility for E-Prescribing

We've had many requests to implement a feature that would give agencies more control over what address gets sent with electronic prescriptions. We're excited to announce the addition of a new Rx Address check box in client external housing records accessible via the Housing module and client face sheets. This new option - which will only show for agencies using Digital Rx and requires no additional configuration - will let users select the specific address that's transmitted to Digital Rx. The check box will only allow one address to be selected at a time, and if no selection is made or you remove a previously made selection, the default logic will go back in place for a client. This feature will allow for addresses with a Move Out date to be selected in the event the client’s current address isn't the address on record with their insurance carrier.

BillingBuilder Enhancements

The following BillingBuilder-related enhancements have been made this month as part of our ongoing efforts to make the functionality as comprehensive as possible:

• ACT Invoice Units for MCOs - Based on a requirement for managed care organizations in New York State, when generating a batch of invoices for an MCO payer (payer with "Medicaid" in the payer's name), the correct number of units will be placed on the invoice within the Edit Invoice Batch screen as well as within the 837 file.  The number of units will reflect the number of billable ACT services for the consumer/month being billed.
• Configure Payers Data Addition - To keep up with billing regulations for managed care organizations in New York State, we have added a new Configure Payers field called Receiver Code.  When data is present in this new data field, it will be reported within the 837 file in the GS segment (GS03).  If a value is not specified in this new field the receiver ID data will be used as it is today.
• Consumer Summary / Statement Addition - Two enhancements have been added to the Consumer Summary/Statement.  Specifically, users can now add a Credit Card Info section into their statement, as well as a general message.   Both options are available when generating the statement from the Consumer Billing Dashboard as well as from the Consumer A/R History Report.  

MedAllies HISP Connection

What if using an Interoperability Connection in AWARDS to safely and securely send client information was as easy as using email or the Messages module in AWARDS? We're excited to announce a new type of interoperability connection in AWARDS called a Health Information Service Provider (HISP) connection offered through a partner called MedAllies. Unlike some interoperability connections which have a regional focus, the HISP is available in all fifty states and allows communication with any other provider that has a DIRECT address. HISPs are just like email service providers like Gmail, meaning if you have a DIRECT address you can send to anyone else with a DIRECT address. MedAllies also has an extensive directory, meaning that all you'll need to know is the name of the provider you're sending the record to.

We think that this connection is going to enable a number of new use cases and means that your agency can ditch your fax machine for sending a client's health record to a hospital or other healthcare provider. You'll be able to reserve both a permission controlled, shared agency inbox as well as individual addresses for your providers. For more information, please see our Interoperability Center agreement and contact your Client Services Division representative.

Medications and MAR Enhancements

A few changes have been made to how medications and MAR records work in order to make the functionality more comprehensive and user-friendly. Specifically:

• New Key Code Field Option on MAR - When Table format and "One Row Per" Scheduled Time are selected on the MAR Settings page, Key Code will then display in the Medications portion of the MAR Options page. When selected, Key Code will report for the related medication administration record for that date and schedule time (or unscheduled).
• SIG Field Displays as Read-Only - For medications that have data saved in the SIG field (Medical> Medications), this information now displays as read-only on the Medication Administration data entry page. 

OASAS Regulatory Modifications and Enhancements

We have addressed OASAS 822 regulatory updates and rolled in a couple of enhancements. (And, as per the Project Pipeline section above, there are a couple more coming shortly!)

• Signature lines for 822 Comprehensive Treatment/Service Plan and Reviews have changed as per regulation 822.9 to just two signatures: Responsible Clinical Staff and Licensed Staff/Credential.  
• Logic has been adjusted in AWARDS so that no errors display if the three LOCADTR fields - Final Level of Care, Date Completed, and Completed By - are left blank when the Significant Other designation is set to "Yes."  
• On the OASAS ReportBuilder, clients who have been transferred among programs will now display PAS 44 data from the original program admitted to and PAS 45 data from the final program discharged from.

PLEASE NOTE: 822 regulations now require the first Comprehensive Treatment/Service Plan Review 90 days instead of 120 days from admission. If your programs are still on the 120 day schedule and you would like to update this to 90 or any other number, please make this request to your Client Services Representative or the Help Desk. This is not a change we can make globally as there is variation in the way different programs have this set. 

Referral Contacts - "New Contact Person" Edit

Following the release of the new Referral Agencies module, updated functionality within Service Referrals and referrals created within the Intake/Admission module, a small update to existing data has been made. If a contact name was previously saved as "New Contact Person," it will now display as "Contact Person Not Designated" when completing data entry for the referral agency, a service referral, or an admission referral.   

ReportBuilder Processing Options

Previously when you generated a ReportBuilder report without using the Send to AWARDS Messages option, you were forced to wait till the report finished loading before you could navigate away from the ReportBuilder. Now when you click the DISPLAY REPORT button, you will be shown a message that your report is loading, and until the report itself is displayed you will be given the option to Cancel Report or Send to AWARDS Messages. If you click Cancel Report you will be returned to the previous report settings page. If you click Send to AWARDS Messages the report will be sent to your AWARDS inbox upon completion and you can navigate from the ReportBuilder if needed. These changes give you flexibility in instances where you're generating a larger report and don't end up having the time to wait for it, for example, or if you start generating the report and change your mind and want to stop the process for any reason.

This enhancement affects all ReportBuilders in AWARDS.

AWARDS Online Help provides information using a variety of different approaches to help meet your agency's educational needs.  

The "navigation" pane on the left-hand side of Online Help is used for moving through, and locating information within, the Online Help system.  At the top of the navigation pane there are three tabs - Contents, Index, and Search.  Regardless of whether you are searching for a video or looking for step-by-step directions, Online Help has made finding answers to all of your questions seamless with the use of these three tabs.

Contents

The Contents tab is displayed by default when opening Online Help or can be accessed by clicking on the Contents tab.  Within the Contents tab, information is organized under "books" for each topic.  By clicking on a book you can drill down to find more specific information related to the topic.

Also with the Contents tab, you can find Additional Resources, including Tip of the Month, FootholdConnect Event Recordings, and Training Films and Demonstrations, among other topics.

Index

The Index tab contains an alphabetical list of all topics found in Online Help. These topics may also have nested topics, which helps make the information easier to find.

Search

The Search tab allows users to search Online Help content for a specific topic or keyword by entering it in the search bar.  The search results will yield a list of relevant topics that match the search term.  In order to limit the results, enter your search topic in quotation marks.

Online Help is constantly being updated to ensure that it is as complete, comprehensive, and user-friendly as possible; however, if you are ever unable to locate the information you are looking for there, please contact the Help Desk for assistance.

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