Can We Afford a Case Management Solution?

“We are a small to mid size company offering therapy and rehab services to community-based clients. We are considering whether a Case Management Solution (CMS) will be useful to us and, more importantly, whether we can afford it. Currently, we use a combination of paper-based files, Google, Outlook, MS Word on our local network, where we also store reports and other documents. We use QuickBooks for Accounting. Our session notes are done on paper template forms. We have just started to scan and store these forms on the server. Oh, we also use the HCAI website to submit plans and invoices to insurance companies. What we do now works fine although an increasing number of our competitors have invested in a CMS. Can we afford a Solution and how do we benefit?”

There are several important considerations here. Allow me to expand on four areas: affordability, efficiency and flexibility, data integrity and business intelligence.

Affordability

Currently, you are not paying for a Case Management Solution (CMS) but you are paying in several other ways. Your staff enters the same information in multiple places, some as many as five times. For instance, you enter the client info into Excel, Google, Tracker, HCAI and QuickBooks. In a good CMS system, you will only have to enter your client information once. Here is a comparison of time entries:

HCAI applies to Ontario only. Table based on some assumptions. Case Management Solution

Monthly savings = 31.9*$20/hour = $638

The above assumptions suggest that in 4 selected areas of work, implementing a single-entry CMS Solution could save the company approximately 32 hours or $638 ($20/hr) each month. Additionally, there may be additional savings in areas of document storage, clinical notes, scheduling, etc. Could these savings justify the investment in a CMS Solution? More than likely. But allow me to look at some other equally important considerations.

Efficiency and Flexibility

A web-based CMS Solution provides you with a new level of operational efficiency, accuracy and flexibility, as well as, the ability to attract and retain great employees.

1. All of your information could be stored in a single location that is automatically backed up.
2. You could work from any location.
3. Your web-based CMS will give you a larger geographical footprint, with more business opportunities.
4. Access to their clients’ information has empowered your service providers while providing them with increased flexibility.
5. Skedulex Mobile is integrated with Skedulex Case Management Solution for a complete Case Management System. It is ideally suited to field-based therapists, PSWs and RSWs.

In summary, you are in the healthcare industry where great employees matter and where employment costs account for more than 80% of your expenses. Your ability to attract and retain great employees or consultants is influenced by the environment you provide. As new, more technologically advanced graduates enter the workplace, flexibility and efficiency are important considerations. Additionally, every hour you save on support or admin trickles directly to your bottom line.

Data Integrity and compliance

The use of multiple and disparate software programs to manage clients provide limited opportunities to enforce proper data integrity and compliance, especially in light of the new Health Information Protection Act, 2016 (HIPA) passed by the Ontario Government. First, data entered in multiple programs vary in accuracy, consistency, rules, format, etc. Thus, quite often, incorrect or incomplete information are sent to clients, submitted to HCAI or used to generate reports from which business decisions are made. Second, disparate programs have no way to protect the privacy of information stored. Anyone with access to the computer may   access personal information of clients, theirs’ and others.

In comparison, a CMS Solution enforces data integrity rules to ensure that all data inputs are complete and conform to a consistent and valid format. Additionally, a CMS Solution provides robust role-based security controls that enforce user-rights. Equally important, a CMS Solution uses an audit trail system to monitor and track changes to clients’ records, thus providing a record of changes and by whom.

While HIPA 2016 stops short of requiring a SQL Server based application to meet new regulatory compliance, it proposes to hold the business accountable for security breaches. Suffice to say that good practices in areas of data integrity and regulatory compliance are common sense approach to securing your business.

Business intelligence

In today’s increasingly competitive business environment, good business intelligence and timely business reports are critical management tools. While manual reports are quite doable, these take too much time to pull together from multiple sources. The time required to prepare these reports also limits their frequency and usefulness, especially given that the formats have limited manipulation.

Conclusion

Healthcare administration is changing rapidly with the advent of web-based CMS Solution and new compliance rules.  CMS Solutions have changed the ratio of support staff required in health care companies by automating standardized tasks, integrating data across programs and improving data collection and analysis. At the same time, CMS Solutions have come down in price while expanding options and applications. SaaS pricing has allowed small and mid-range companies to invest in CMS solutions, once only affordable to large companies.

In today’s increasingly complex and competitive health care environment, Health Care companies must be efficient, flexible and robust. In considering the cost of replacing the patchwork of disparate Solution programs with an integrated web-based CMS solution, companies must look beyond the monthly fees. Equally important are the non-financial benefits of a CMS solution. Good data integrity, security and compliance practices are added insurance to your business. The ability to generate high quality and timely reports is icing on the cake. Skedulex Case management Solution.

Suggested Readings on researching a Case Management Solution.

How do I select a Practice Management Software

Protecting your Client Data is Smart Business

Frequently Asked Questions about Skedulex

Four reasons to ditch your Paper Records

Skedulex integrates Form 1 Assessment of Attendant Care Needs