5 Steps to Streamlining Your Home Health Care Agency in 2024

Asha Neil

Written on 2 January, 2024
Streamlining your home healthcare agency is key to thriving in 2024 and beyond. It will help you manage caregivers, deliver high-quality services, and comply with industry regulations.

How Streamlining Will Help Home Health Agencies Meet the Challenges of 2024

With increasing demand for home-based care services as the US population ages, it would be easy to assume that the home health care industry is thriving. The reality is that the future holds many challenges for home care agencies.

Nationwide home health aide shortages mean that meeting the increased demand for healthcare may prove difficult. Many healthcare organizations find themselves forced to turn away requests for services, or even struggling to fulfill their current work. In 2024, home care agencies must compete for competent and qualified caregivers, while also improving retention rates where possible.

Medicare funding for home care agencies' services is also being cut in 2024, while high inflation rates mean that the cost of delivering services is on the rise.

Plus, home care agencies have to adapt to several Medicare-related regulatory changes that took place in 2023. The Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model (HHVBP) was rolled out across the US, with 2023 as the first performance year to affect Medicare payments. OASIS-E is also being launched on January 1st, 2023.

Moreover, if your home care organization isn't already using electronic visit verification (EVV), it has become mandatory for Medicaid home health since January 1st, 2023.

In the face of expanding Medicare regulations and labor shortages, streamlining has never been more important for the home healthcare industry. It will cut costs and workload while making it easier to implement organization-wide improvements. In turn, it will be easier to focus on care quality and patient satisfaction.

Home care agencies will also be able to better support caregivers and provide more attractive schedules. This can improve staff engagement and retention rates.

5 Ways Home Health Agencies Can Streamline Operations

The right systems will help home care agencies provide better patient care in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. And with technology designed to meet the needs of home health care agencies, it's easier than ever to set these systems up.

Client Onboarding and Home Health Aide Matching

Client onboarding is a low-hanging fruit for most home care agencies looking to streamline. While each patient has different needs, the documentation and onboarding process is identical. You should be able to use your home care software to create document templates so you can quickly get new patients signed up for services. 

Plus, a digital client-caregiver matching system will mean you can find the right caregiver for each patient in minutes. Just apply the right filters, from languages to shift times, to find the ideal match.

Worker Scheduling

Optimizing scheduling will save you hours of admin work, maximize the number of patients each caregiver can see, and help keep your team happy.

Scheduling software can create a draft schedule in minutes for you to approve. You can also invite your caregivers to input their availability via the scheduler, removing the need for back-and-forth emails.

Advanced scheduling features will allow you to set up team and recurring shifts, as well as assigning multiple clients and services to each caregiver. And with per-patient and per-aide views of your schedule, you can confirm that it will work for everybody: your business, your patients, and your team members.

Client Documentation and Health Plan Management 

From health plans to visit notes, home health agencies need to record lots of healthcare documentation. Streamline this by using a well-designed, secure document storage system that makes it easy for aides to access and record important documents. Templates will ensure your team can quickly fill in records and find the information they need to deliver care of an exceptional quality.

Don’t forget to create automated document expiry notifications, so you can ensure information is always up to date — with no need to waste time manually checking plan expiry dates at year-end.

Invoicing, Payroll, and Expenses

Whether your patients are Medicare or non-Medicare, invoicing for services provided can be complex. Each insurer has its own billing system. 

However, it's still possible to streamline. Make sure your invoicing system is integrated with your EVV and time-tracking systems so you can generate invoice details with a few clicks of a button. In turn, this will help your home care agency get paid quicker for services.

Systems integrations will also help you reduce the time and cost of payroll and expenses. Opt for care management technology that allows your team to attach receipts to their shift records and integrates with your payroll technology.

Regulatory Compliance

Regulatory compliance is easiest when you use just one platform that centers around the needs of home care agencies. Plus, it cuts down on your organization's admin work.

Look for technology with EVV and time-tracking built into the scheduler. Ensure that it's easy to share communication via a secure platform so you can stay HIPAA-compliant

Streamline for Better Care and Better Operations

Streamlining your business will better position you to respond to the challenges of home health care in 2023, from updated Medicare systems to labor shortages.

You’ll be able to reduce workload and costs, support your staff, and comply with regulations for health systems. Even more importantly, streamlining will support you in providing value-based care that improves patients' quality of life. 

ShiftCare's care management software helps home healthcare organizations cut down the time spent on admin by up to 90%, while providing your team with all the tools you need for exceptional patient care. It has rigorous healthcare compliance, document management, and scheduling features. You can do payroll, expenses, and invoices with the click of a button. 

To discover how software for home care agencies can support your healthcare organization, try ShiftCare for free.

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