Software for care coordination makes value-based healthcare more accessible to hospital groups and accountable care organizations (ACOs). It carries a significant portion of the administrative burden. Many healthcare practitioners use this technology while providing preventative health programs like Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) or Chronic Care Management just for this reason (CCM).
Or, organizations employ such software to simplify the coordination of general continuous care. But what drawbacks do care coordination software have? As you are aware, nothing is flawless. What difficulties might you thus anticipate while using or applying this tool?
You will gain from being aware of what to anticipate in general while you look for a solution. This will assist you in maintaining focus and forming realistic expectations for your future purchase.
What Problems Does Software for Care Coordination Solve?
The complicated administrative requirements of diverse patient services are resolved by care coordination software, as was mentioned before. the majority of which are subject to Medicare’s laws and procedures.
These may consist of:
- Managing Chronic Conditions (CCM).
- Remote patient observation (RPM).
- Regular Wellness Checkups (AWVs).
- Managing Transitional Care (TCM).
- Integration of Behavioral Healthcare (BHI).
Software technologies make it simple for clinical personnel and medical professionals to handle service needs. Some of the typical duties that software makes simple include creating care plans, gathering and analyzing data, keeping track of time for invoicing, and streamlining workflow operations.
This technology and related digital tools will become increasingly crucial as telemedicine and other integrated patient services become the norm in healthcare.
4 Typical Issues with Care Coordination Software.
What then are the challenges? We outline five typical problems with care coordinating software below.
The curve of learning.
It may be really steep! Training will be needed to implement care coordination software for wellness initiatives. This technology’s features and subtleties may be quite complex. But don’t be alarmed!
Most suppliers provide assistance. Whether it be via live, tailored training, textual and video lectures, or a helpful tech support staff. The majority of businesses that provide care coordination software are ready to assist you.
Additionally, certain choices have an intuitive design. You and your workers may quickly grow used to the tool with some simple repetition of jobs and some time.
Aside from the software, another learning obstacle is presented by the laws and regulations connected to certain wellness programs. But there is assistance, just like with software.
Some software providers may provide supplementary written or visual materials to inform you of certain program needs. They may also connect you to relevant sources of more information.
Integration With Electronic Health Records is limited to nonexistent (EHRs).
Electronic health records (EHRs) and care coordination software are not the same things. EHRs are not designed to meet the demands of value-based care schemes.
Apart from that, there may not even be any integration between the two tools. This may sometimes result in redundant activities, such as data collection and transmission between them. Or, if the absence of a link is taken incorrectly, it might cause widespread misunderstanding.
Nevertheless, some software developers do provide integration with certain EHR choices. You’ll be more able to synchronize both products as long as the EHR you use is supported.
The majority of care coordination software solutions make it simple to export patient data in the event that integration is not feasible. You may manually communicate information with an EHR by utilizing a reporting tool.
Billing and time reporting.
These administrative responsibilities are made easier by care coordination software. But only if it is applied correctly. While billing modules simplify CPT codes and time reporting tools track billable minutes, in the end, if these components are utilized improperly, they will fail you.
The use of care management software makes this less difficult. It’s more of a point about the use that is efficient.
It’s critical to note this since inexperience or miscommunication might hinder effectiveness. That’s a concern when it comes to charging and adhering to certain laws and regulations.
If care is paid to it, care coordination software will bear the majority of the burden.
General malfunctions or downtime.
All software has bugs (at some point). However, can the seller of the care coordination software you want ensure a timely response?
Some could do this by providing their customers with quick-access channels for contacting their technical support staff.
Others may choose a more cautious, closed strategy. Or don’t provide any guidance at all.
In any case, it is sensible to take into account the vendor’s rules and procedures for handling errors when you look for software options.
A software solution selection involves more than just a single product. It requires collaboration with the seller. Simply put, you’ll want to know about your alternatives for help.
When the time comes, you’ll want reassurance that the issue is being handled effectively so you can concentrate on providing patient services.
Final thoughts
Value-based care places a strong emphasis on health outcomes when deciding how much to pay providers. Providers must provide certain measurements and data under alternative payment models like the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) to support the rates they are paid.
In such approaches, providers may be eligible for extra incentives, such as shared cost savings, if health outcomes are adequate or improved. But how might value-based care be implemented using the software?