Over the course of the past year, I’ve had countless conversations with executives within various home health agencies (HHAs) all over Texas. In those conversations, I’ve noticed a common problem when we begin to discuss their pain points in the marketplace – scheduling efficiency.
They may not directly mention those words (scheduling efficiency), but the way in which I hear some of the drawbacks being described represents the common problem across agencies of all sizes. A problem that has the potential to have an enormous impact on an organization, though it may not be evident initially.
Analyzing the Problem
If an agency lacks scheduling efficiency, chances are other areas of the business are suffering as a result. Caseload growth may not be occurring, which can negatively impact your current staff and your organization’s reputation in the marketplace. Moreover, no caseload growth means stagnation, and stagnation means your bottom line isn’t improving.
It’s an easy problem to pass blame with – a therapist drops out of the visit last minute, that couldn’t have been avoided, right? Well, yes, technically that’s right. Emergencies that cause visits to be dropped are inevitable. This forces agencies to look for outsourcing partners if internal resources are at full capacity. However, with an efficient scheduling process, things like visits dropped at the last minute aren’t matters of major concern because you’re better equipped to handle them.
Providing a Solution
To remain competitive in today’s home health marketplace, agencies must be able to continue to provide high-quality care to their current patients while having the ability to bring on new ones simultaneously. Oftentimes, those two do not go hand in hand. More visits in a day per therapist could mean less time spent with each patient, ineffective or prolonged treatments, or a decrease in patient satisfaction, but it doesn’t have to.
Our solution here at Snap Health not only gives agencies a platform to conduct all your scheduling operations, but it also provides a unique solution to therapists that ensures quality care at every visit, every time. Inside the Snap Health Online Referral System, agencies can submit multiple referrals simultaneously, select and assign therapists based on a number of factors, schedule out all visits for patients, and approve post-visit documentation from the therapists. It’s a one-stop, easy-to-use platform for agencies that leads to reduced overall costs, increased caseload growth, and a better overall process of providing care. Don’t worry, it’s also extremely easy to take care of a visit that has been dropped!