The demographics of our world are changing. By 2030, it’s predicted that 1 in 6 people will be older than 60! As the population of elderly Americans continues to grow—along with those who have disabilities and chronic illnesses—it’s more vital than ever that those in need of at-home care receive it in a timely manner by thoughtful and diligent professionals.
That’s why the 21st Century Cures Act requires states to implement Electronic Visit Verification, or EVV, for home healthcare providers and the workers they employ. These requirements apply to all in-home, Medicaid provided Personal Care Services (PCS) and Home Healthcare Services (HHCS) visits in all 50 states, including the District of Columbia and all U.S. territories.
EVV revolutionizes the landscape of home healthcare visits by operating not just as a technological tool, but a guardian of trust and quality. Maintaining compliance with EVV regulations helps ensure that care delivered to patients in their homes is as accountable and transparent as it is compassionate.
Core Components of EVV Tracking
The purpose of EVV tracking is to keep a record that provides details of a home healthcare visit, for purposes of ensuring transparency and accountability, but what should that record actually entail? Individuals conducting a Personal Care Services (PCS) or Home Healthcare Services visit must provide:
- The type of service provided or performed at each visit
- The individual receiving the service
- The individual providing the service
- The date the service was provided
- The location where the service was delivered
- The start and end time of the visit
Methods used for EVV tracking can include mobile apps, phone calls, FOB tracking, voice identification, or alternate approved devices.
Diverse Users of EVV and Their Impact
Providers of home healthcare utilize EVV for efficient care management, and to enhance service delivery. Efficient and compliant EVV tracking benefits the home healthcare industry in a number of ways.
Greater Efficiency
Because EVV tracking is both digital and portable, certain elements of the home healthcare process are moved to the digital sphere, which can prevent headaches for everybody involved. For example, using a mobile device to view up-to-date patient information that is easy to edit and update when necessary. This will make it easier to schedule, reschedule and cancel appoints, and much easier to keep track of those changes.
Fewer Errors
Greater efficiency in record-keeping also means greater accuracy! We’re only human, and humans are bound to make mistakes. But EVV tracking, when done properly, can help both decrease and prevent those mistakes. Home health care workers are busy people, who might be inclined to keep records and make notes long after the visit is over. Because EVV encourages real-time recordkeeping and requires specific information, HCC workers are more likely to take more detailed and more accurate notes in the moment.
Better for Workers and Providers
By staying on top of their EVV tracking, workers are better organized, staying on top of their tasks (which includes keeping accurate records)! Using EVV, individuals gain valuable insights into their productivity and are encouraged to take responsibility for their time management. The system’s records are revealing: they show if someone arrives late, leaves early, or tends to be non-punctual. This level of accountability helps in identifying and correcting patterns of behavior that impact their efficiency.
Likewise, this increase in productivity and accountability for workers helps the home health care agencies who employ these caregivers in a big way. EVV speeds along the process of billing and payment. Because EVV lets caregivers enter patient data in real-time, that information can be passed along for billing in real time, with fewer delays (and fewer errors!) for billing codes. In turn, quicker billing should lead to speedier payments. Most agencies who provide home healthcare rely on government reimbursements, a potentially arduous process made speedier and more efficient with the aid of EVV.
Better for Patients
Ultimately, EVV helps streamline and organize aspects of the home healthcare visit experience for agencies and caregivers so they can give the aid to those who truly deserve to benefit from these requirements the most; the patient! Workers who use EVV are able to spend less time on paperwork and record-keeping, and more time on patient care. Plus, more efficient records with a digital footprint improve both communication and transparency between the patient and those providing their care.
EVV Tracking Made Easier With CompanyMileage
Clearly, EVV is a critical innovation for the home healthcare industry, offering a combination of efficiency, accuracy, and care that rightfully centers itself on the patient. As technology in the field of healthcare continues to evolve, the integration of EVV will be key to meeting the challenges of future healthcare service delivery.
CompanyMileage and its suite of mileage tracking and reimbursement software solutions already allow providers to electronically record most of the information EVV systems need to meet requirements, letting mobile healthcare workers upload EVV information directly from their smartphones.
With our SureMobile app, users can utilize our Check-In Feature to quickly submit GPS location data for their starting and ending locations. They can also use the Check-In Feature to submit trip time that includes the date, the start and end times, and any other useful supplementary information. SureMobile also features a Quick Capture button, making it easier than ever for users to automatically store trip information in the app with the literal touch of a button.
CompanyMileage is dedicated to improving the lives and work days of workers in home healthcare as well as their patients, and our software maintains levels of security and compliance that meet or exceed Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act standards. For more information on how CompanyMileage can help you enhance EVV tracking, contact us for a free demo today!