While we're still bundling up and working through one very long and cold winter here in mid-Michigan, our eyes are focused on the coming spring and summer.

Likewise, we keep attuned to upcoming changes and trends in the homecare industry. This month we're looking at the new CMS1500 form, apps and mobility, and overtime calculation changes.

New Forms & Codes Coming in 2014

Have you hard about the ICD10 codes or the new CMS1500 billing form? These are both hot topics in our Live Chat these days. We are working on changes for Generations Online to accommodate both of these.

CMS 1500 Claim Form
The CMS1500 is a standard health insurance claim form used by a non-institutional provider or supplier to bill Medicaid State Agencies, Medicare carriers, durable medical equipment regional carriers, and others as required. Some things for Generations users to keep in mind:

• If you use the print image option, you need to work with your clearinghouse, state agency, or other payors to see what remapping and/or testing is required.
• If you print on the red form, be sure to order new forms in advance of the deadline established by your payors.
• We are doing our best to ensure that you will be able to copy information from the existing older version of the CMS1500 onto the new form. 

ICD-10 Diagnostic Codes
The ICD-10 diagnostic codes will be available mid-summer. We understand that all billing for services rendered October 1, 2014 or later must use ICD-10 codes for payors who are HIPAA-covered entities. Please check with your payor to see if this applies to the services your agency provides.

These changes will not be implemented in the older Windows Generations. Please contact your payor to see if you will be required to use the new form; if so, you must upgrade to Generations Online.

• To learn more about Generations Online, please contact Amanda Conroy.
• If you have questions about the Generations implementation of the CMS1500 or ICD10 codes, please contact Kathy McCormick. 

The release of our app for Office Users late last year helped many of you turn a definitive corner towards more mobility and useability. Now you can easily access and update information about clients, caregivers, schedules, the call center, and more while out in the field and on the road in real time.

Be sure to share the app with your caregivers. They can check schedules, read care plans, read tasks, and log in and out of shifts using Generations Telephony - all with the swipe or tap of a finger. And don't forget that the caregiver app also utilizes GPS technology; if you're using Generations Telephony, the app ensures the caregiver is exactly where they say they are.

Clients (and contacts of the client) can also utilize the app to see when visits are scheduled, which caregiver will be working with them, and to opt in or out of receiving notification by email that a caregiver has arrived and/or left the home. What a great way for the daughter or son of a client who lives out of state to feel confident in the services you are providing.

Download an app today!

   

Don't have an iPhone or Android phone? Use our mobile website. Sign in with your agency ID, email address, and password.

NOTE: Apps and the mobile website are only available for users of Generations Online. Please contact us to learn more.

Exempt Payroll Items & New Report

With the release of updated overtime capabilities earlier this year, we heard several suggestions from you for improvement. We continue to refine this new feature.

First, you now have the ability to exempt specific payroll items from overtime calculation. You'll find this useful when you have a caregiver living in the home and need to credit the caregiver for sleep time. We've heard some agencies plan to create a special "Sleep Time" payroll item and exempt it from overtime calculations.

We've also added a new report called "Scheduled Overtime Hours." This report shows you a breakdown by caregiver of shift, total hours, overtime hours, and more. It also shows you caregivers who do not have hours and all available shifts.

Here's an example. Let's say you have a caregiver working from 7a-7p five days a week. That's a total of 48 hours over the course of the week. Your overtime alerts at 40 hours per week and after 9 hours per day; that results in three hours of overtime per day. When reviewing the Scheduled Overtime Hours report, you see that data broken down into total hours (48), the regular hours (36) and the overtime hours (12.) You also see the time that the caregiver is not scheduled to work.

Our office relocated effective January 1, 2014. To ensure timely communication, please take a moment and update the address you have for Generations and IDS to 2625 Denison Drive Suite A, Mount Pleasant, MI 48858.

Sincerely,
Integrated Database Systems, Inc.

Phone: (989) 546-4512
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