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Highlights from the Project Pipeline
Tip of the Month - "Finding" Your Way Through AWARDS
HCBS Three Part Webinar Series Now Available Online
This Month on the Foothold Blog
For more information on upcoming FootholdConnect events, please go to the FootholdConnect button on the AWARDS Opening Menu page, 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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Highlights from the Project Pipeline
Message from the CEO Regarding Topaz Signature Pads
Hi All,
I wanted to take a moment of your time and address some issues related to using Internet Explorer 11 and Topaz signature pads. A number of years ago, when we began working with Topaz, they were a great fit for AWARDS; their pads could be used across multiple browsers and were able to integrate seamlessly with AWARDS. As time went on, however, the different browsers changed their security settings and closed the ports that Topaz was using to integrate their hardware with web based software like AWARDS.
As it stands today, the only browser that supports the plug-in for Topaz is Internet Explorer 11. Unfortunately, as many of you know, Microsoft is now encouraging the shift away from IE 11 to Microsoft Edge and it is safe to assume that after many years of working with Topaz in AWARDS, our time together with them will slowly be coming to an end. The good news is, we already support other technology for electronic signatures like touch screen monitors, touch screen devices, and mouse-like hardware. It is our recommendation that you begin to look towards some of these alternatives. IE 11 should stay reasonably static for a while so this isn't an urgent change that needs to be made tomorrow. However, we know that change comes slowly sometimes, so it's a good idea to begin thinking about how you will handle electronic signatures after the Topaz/IE11 relationship has run its course. As always your Client Services Representative is available to discuss the implementation of other hardware options for electronic signatures, and you can also find additional information here.
Marlowe Greenberg
CEO, Foothold Technology
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We're excited to announce the next round of the AWARDS Impact Prize will be starting in the new year! 2015 was our inaugural year, and we awarded $1000 to five agencies that were doing meaningful, groundbreaking work with AWARDS. Think about what impactful things your agency is doing - maybe you could be one of next year's winners! More details coming soon!
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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 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: December 2, 2015
CSV Import & One-Button Upload Restrictions
The One-Button Upload feature used to send HMIS data across databases is becoming a little more restrictive in order to help System Administrators stop the flow of bad data across systems. Records containing validation errors will no longer be uploaded. If certain records are withheld from the upload, the "Upload Results" audit message will clearly state that some records were not included and the Validation_Error.txt file will list all of the records that were not uploaded. Users are encouraged to run an "HMIS Export" before attempting the One Button Upload in order to check for validation errors. The same restriction is being applied to CSV Imports as well.
Employers Enhancements - Clickable Breadcrumbs
A new navigation tool has been added to the Employers feature (located within Employment > Jobs) in the form of clickable breadcrumbs. These breadcrumbs appear to the top of the pages within the Employers feature, and users can click on them to quickly navigate back to a specific page. These breadcrumbs will be added to features in AWARDS as we continue the redesign process and more features are placed in the new format.
Program History Corrections Enhancement - Delete Referral
A new option has been added to the Program Corrections tool, for those users with access. Going forward, when removing a program stay for a client, if the program being removed is a multi-step admission program, once the "Delete" check box is checked a new "Delete Referral?" drop-down will be displayed next to that stay and is a required field. The drop-down options are "Yes" (which will also remove the referral record used to process the program admission from the Intake/Admission module) and "No" (which will leave the referral record intact within the Intake/Admission module). Adding this field to the Program History Corrections tool allows users to complete the needed deletions in one place, instead of having to navigate to the Intake/Admission module to remove the referral after the program stay has been removed.
Also with this enhancement, when an Outreach program history is removed from a client's chart using Program History Corrections, AWARDS will no longer display an unprocessed referral record for that client. The stay and all components will be removed automatically.
PROS Referring Provider Info in Claims
As managed care continues to move forward in New York State, AWARDS continues to support the evolving needs of our PROS clients. One item discovered during this transition to managed care is the possible need to include referring provider information within the consumers' claims. This requirement exists in the regulations today and while Medicaid is not enforcing it, it's likely that the MCOs will. To accommodate this data requirement, AWARDS can now capture a referring provider within the consumer's record and report that information in the correct location within the 837I electronic claim file and the paper UB-04 claim form. For guidance/explanation on who a consumer's referring provider is in a PROS program, please contact OMH. We also recommend that you reach out to the managed care providers to determine if they will be requiring the inclusion of referring provider information in claims submitted to them.
To start capturing referring provider information today for your consumers, please contact the AWARDS help desk and ask to have a new role, labeled "PROS Referring Provider," added to your Support Services Contacts list. When data is captured within this new role for a PROS consumer that data will be automatically placed on the posted invoice line within the Edit Invoice Batch screen, transmitted within the REF*DN segment in the 837I claim file, and included Box 78 on the UB-04 form.
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As 2015 comes to a close HMIS users and administrators have a lot to be proud of. This has been a rather crazy year in the world of HMIS, with new Data Standards being fully implemented, Federal partner agencies coming on board, and lots of changes in AWARDS. But the busyness doesn't end here. In most communities HMIS administrators are now focused on completing their Annual Homeless Assessment Reports (AHAR). Administrators and directors will likely be asked to run data quality reports and audit checks. Case managers and front desk staff will likely be asked to review client charts, making sure that data quality is as good as possible. This is the final push to end the year with good data quality and a successful AHAR submission.
Meanwhile, RHY grantees are in the midst of completing their first export into the RHYPoint system. RHY grantees should be double-checking their exports using the "RHY" export type, to make sure there are no validation errors or warnings. All clients in the project will be exported unless an Entitlement Filter is used, so for this reason we recommend splitting your RHY clients into their own project.
Finally, as we wrap up 2015 work is already underway on new enhancements that will be deployed next year. In January the new CoC APR should be released, along with the new System Performance Measures report. Later in 2016 all of the new Coordinated Entry enhancements will also be released including the new custom Waiting List functionality. Stay tuned for more details.
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Tip of the Month - "Finding" Your Way in AWARDS
Ever have difficulty searching for particular variables on lengthy ReportBuilders pages? Getting errors messages and unsure how to locate the problem area? An easy way to pinpoint the information you are looking for is by using the "find" tool available in every browser. This tool is accessible by pressing <CTRL+F> for PCs, and <COMMAND+F> for Macs. Once you've done so, a search box is displayed on the page (in the lower-left portion of the page in Firefox, the upper-right in Safari, and the upper-left in IE11), and you can type in exactly what you are looking for. You'll then be provided with any matches for your keyword that are found on the page you've searched.
in AWARDS the find tool is especially helpful within certain areas such as ReportBuilders, Permissions, AWARDS Online Help, Reports, and Error Messages to name a few. It is sure to be a time saving tool you'll utilize frequently moving forward. Here are some examples to start you out!
Example 1: Searching for a variable on a ReportBuilder Settings page
If you are on the Demographic ReportBuilder settings page, for instance, and are looking for the "Emergency Contact" variable, press <CTRL+F>, and type that as your keyword in the search box:
(Google Chrome version)
The keyword is highlighted on the AWARDS page easy spotting, and by pressing <Enter> you will be brought to each match.
Example 2: Locating fields/options referenced in error messages
Another instance where the find tool is particularly helpful is locating where errors occurred after receiving error messages. For example, if you receive an error message like this:
You can simply copy and paste part of the error message into the find search box to locate the relevant field/option on the AWARDS page:
(Firefox version)
In this example, demonstrated using Firefox, you can also see a different between how the find tool operates in different browsers; specifically, here only one match will be highlighted at a time unless you click the find tool's "Highlight All" option.
Example 3: Finding and setting permissions
Finding and setting specific permissions can be done quickly with use of the find tool. For example, if you wanted to give a worker backdated data entry for progress notes but were unsure what permission type this was under, you could select "All Types" of permissions, and then use <CTRL+F> to look for the word "backdated."
(IE 11 version)
Press <Enter> and you are brought to your highlighted keyword results.
Example 4: Reviewing data quality for duplicated clients
One final example where the find tool can be especially helpful is when looking at the Foothold Data Quality Report for Duplicated Clients. A duplicate client is one who has been entered in AWARDS more than once using slightly different information, causing AWARDS to count the records as separate clients. For example, if two entries have the same SSN and Name but have different DOBs, each entry will have a different Client ID but will both have a matching Personal ID.
In the Demographics ReportBuilder's saved "Foothold Data Quality Report for Duplicated Clients" report format, the Personal IDs are grouped together and then the number of clients who have the same Personal IDs are counted. Any Personal ID that has a distinct count of more than "1" indicates that a potential duplicate client has been found.
Since this report contains many names and IDs, this is a great opportunity to utilize the "find" tool. Press <CTRL+F> and type in the phrase "Distinct Count ID Values : 2" as shown here:
(Safari version)
That phrase will be highlighted and stand out on your report. As you can see, Jim Halpert has the same Name and SSN but different DOB which has resulted in two Client IDs:
These are just a few of the ways the very handy find tool in your browser can assist you in being more effective and efficient throughout AWARDS. Happy hunting!
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HCBS Three Part Webinar Series Now Available Online
The Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) has finalized rules for Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), and we know those rules vary from state to state. To help providers build on their knowledge, Foothold Technology hosted a series of webinars over the last several months and convened a few industry experts to offer their perspective on what HCBS means for those providing services. All three webinars can be viewed here.
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This Month on the Foothold Blog
Check out the latest entries from the Foothold blog!
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https://demodb.footholdtechnology.com/help/?11678 - December 2015
