If you are like most provider agencies, your work is not done in a single location. You are providing home and community based services (HCBS), which means you have multiple locations and staff that is running around to and from those locations. As MediSked Connect is a hosted platform, it can only be accessed via an internet connection. Through what device your staff accesses an Agency Management Platform has become the most recent question we get asked.

It wasn’t so long ago that the only way to get on the internet was through a PC, Mac, or laptop via an Ethernet connection (cord plugged into your computer) or through a wireless connection. Today, there many more ways to connect to the internet through mobile devices such as smart phones and iPads or tablets. The infographic below is interesting in that it illustrates just how common smart phones have become – over 91.4 million smartphones are owned in the US alone. The use of mobile broadband as a way to access the internet has been a leading catalyst in this growth – you no longer need that wireless internet connection that your laptop 5 years ago relied on. As you might imagine, this technology and trend will only grow.

At MediSked, this trend is exciting and very positive. Over the last couple of years we have seen customers begin to try different devices that truly bring technology to the point of care. And while we are not in the “device” business, we have created a mobile edition that is simple and easy to use with any of these devices. So, the answer to this question is an emphatic YES. Here are the mobile devices of today that our customers are using MediSked.

• Net Books – Net books are essentially light weight laptops. They don’t have the memory and storage capacity of a standard laptop but if you are just using it to hop on the internet, net books are an affordable and efficient device to buy. Our customers like net books because, compare to tablets and smart phones, they are relatively cheap to buy in bulk. Tablets are becoming more in demand and the netbook market is not as robust as it was a couple of years ago. So prices have dropped which is good for you. The other nice feature about a net book is that it has a real keyboard, which a smart phone and tablet do not have. So it is much easier to type service notes, messages, etc on a net book than it is on a tablet and especially on a smart phone.

• Tablet (including iPad) – Right now tablets are viable options for provider agencies and their staff that travels. And in terms of brands, the iPad dominates the market – accounting for 62.5% of global shipments this year, according to IDC. The downside to a tablet is it’s very expensive and to provide one to every staff member would be expensive and the risk of them going lost or missing is probably pretty high. Customers that have had success with them have found that limited use by certain staff tends to work better, most notable nursing or clinical staff. They can pull up records easily and view and record vital information.

• Smartphones – As the infographic points out, smart phone ownership and usage is large and growing. If staff members have smart phones to begin with, they can use them to record there notes and to check in and out of shifts. Typically, the biggest questions that come up with using smartphones is that staff are using a personal phone for business- how is that reimbursed and what about the staff that doesn’t have smart phones. These are questions that are probably going to come up if you are looking at this option, so be prepared to have a plan in place that makes the most sense for your agency.

Overall, the options and flexibility on how to access the internet have grown tremendously over the last five or six years. Providing your staff with access to the information they need in order to do their job and satisfy the compliance requirements of your agency is vitally important. Keep that in mind when you are looking for a solution and be sure that the solution does work with mobile devices as usage will continue to grow.

 

The following infographic is courtesy of? http://ansonalex.com/infographics/smartphone-usage-statistics-2012-infographic/

Below is a link to an Office of the Inspector General’s report that was just released concerning the State of Colorado and some unallowable payments made to agencies that employed people on the exclusion list. Exclusion list check functionality is built into the Connect Platform – allowing agencies to seamlessly run checks against their list of employees while never having to leaving Connect. If an employee comes up on the check, their record is flagged.

Please read below for the full report on Colorado.

http://oig.hhs.gov/oas/reports/region7/71106026.asp

We get asked this question a lot when we are out meeting with agencies. Having a list of references that you can call to get real, unbiased feedback is a great way to get a full picture of the company and the product that you are interested in. You also might have questions about how the software works with agencies of your size or that offer similar types of services. It’s important to see if there are any other customers that are similar to you in those aspects. These are common concerns that are alleviated only when an agency speaks to other agencies of similar size or scope using the product.
We encourage anyone looking at our product to reach out to customer references because we understand this is a natural and oftentimes required step in making a decision. On the flip side, if you request a list of references from a vendor and they avoid giving you customers to call – this is a major red flag.
Commonly, the root of the question when an agency asks “Who else is using MediSked” is that they want to know that our customer base is comprised of other agencies that are providing similar services, face similar challenges, and have similar document and business workflows. One of the things that makes MediSked unique is that our only focus is on provider agencies and our software was created specifically to handle the unique workflows, services and challenges that these agencies face. There are other products on the market that are being targeted to not only you, but entirely different types of agencies. The product is focused more generally and oftentimes, agencies have to “fit” into the software instead of the other way – the software fitting the agency.
The moral of the story here is that this question is very common and very important. Getting customer references and understanding if the software product you’re interested in is being sold to other populations should give you a comfort level (or discomfort level) on the intangibles of the product and the company. This is the critical information that you will never find in the product brochure!

This past Saturday, a group of us at MediSked volunteered our time with one of our customers, The Epilepsy Foundation, and participated in their Salt City Walk. Over 300 people came out to show their support for Epilepsy Foundation and walked the 3 mile route along Onondaga Lake in Syracuse, NY. The weather was hot, but that didn’t stop all of the walkers and the great enthusiasm on display by all. For more information on the event and the Epilepsy Foundation of Rochester-Syracuse-Binghamton, please visit their site here.? If you are a MediSked customer and have an event coming up, please let us know – we’d love to attend and show our support!