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!

This past Friday, we had the pleasure of visiting this quarter's user group leadership award recipient, Jennifer Thomas from Phoenix Frontier, Inc located in Buffalo, NY. This award is given to a MediSked Connect user that exhibits expertise in the system and leverages it to make it more effective for their agency and the users at their agency. While we were there to present the award, Jennifer also gave us a great tour of their facility and their employment program.

The trend of States moving health care from Medicaid to Medicaid Managed Care is one that is growing.

This directly affects provider agencies in terms of how their clients are managed, how funding is structured for each client and ultimately how to bill for reimbursement. So far 11 states have some or all of their long term services through private insurers, with another 24 states having applied for demonstration grants.

Within our customer base, we have customers in states that are in all stages the Managed Care trend. Also, we possess the experience to assist to manage the changes while minimizing the administrative impact to the agency.

For more on this growing trend, check out this Forbes article published on Wednesday:

?http://www.forbes.com/sites/howardgleckman/2012/07/11/private-insurers-are-betting-big-on-managed-care-for-dual-eligible-seniors/