As a Homecare Administrator, Shacria Deslandes plays many important roles at All in One Caring Services, a homecare agency serving the Orlando, Florida market. Juggling visit compliance, caregiver schedules, and ensuring the agency is using all authorized hours are just a few of the many responsibilities she oversees.
When Deslandes joined All in One Caring Services, the agency was transitioning to a new agency management platform: HHAeXchange. Despite still being early in the onboarding process, Deslandes immediately noticed a big difference in usability and support compared to other systems she had used in the past.
Unlike their previous system’s unreliable 24/7 support line “which was never actually available 24/7,” the experience with HHAeXchange has been timely and effective. “In the past, we would have to leave voicemails and would never hear a response. Being in the homecare industry, time is of the essence, so this was frustrating. We have patients that are awaiting caregivers. We’re trying to solve these issues and make sure that everything is put in appropriately, so that we get caregivers paid and members cared for on time.”
What I like the most about HHAeXchange is the Support Center. I can type questions into the chat like ‘How do you do this?’ or ‘Where can I find that?’ and get instant guidance. It’s very helpful.
Shacria Deslandes
All in One Caring Services
Hands-on support and training also stood out to Deslandes during the implementation process. When they were getting started with billing, they ran into a few roadblocks. Fortunately, they were able to quickly resolve any issues after having a training session with their HHAeXchange Implementation Project Manager. “She walked us through the process and showed us what we hadn’t done on our end. It was very simple to fix. The time that HHAeXchange gave us to ask questions and the fact that you all know your stuff—that really is the best part of working with the HHAeXchange team.”
Not only did All in One office staff feel supported from the beginning of the transition, but caregivers adapted easily as well. “From what I hear from the caregivers, they transitioned very well. The system on their end is pretty simple and self-explanatory. We have a lot of older caregivers that aren’t as computer savvy, and they were able to catch on right away. That was a great thing. I didn’t have to do too much training for them.”
For Deslandes and her team, maintaining accurate visit data is essential both ensuring compliance and avoiding billing issues. One feature that proved especially valuable was the ability to edit past visit records directly within the Visit tab. In one situation, caregivers were spending two to three hours with clients, but they were documenting tasks that didn’t align with the authorized plan of care. “There was no way they were doing all these tasks in three hours,” Deslandes noted. Using the Visit Maintenance workflow in HHAeXchange, she was able to go back and remove duties that shouldn’t have been completed, correcting visit data retroactively. From there, she adjusted the Plan of Care to prevent those tasks from appearing in future visits—ensuring that caregivers only see what’s relevant to each client. Being able to customize the duty list for each client helped streamline what caregivers see and fill out. Now, it’s more accurate and efficient for everyone. This helped reduce errors and stay compliant and audit ready. “Being able to go in and take those options away and tweak their Plan of Care was very helpful.”
When it came to maintaining caregiver visits to ensure compliance and set up for a successful billing, HHAeXchange proved to be a crucial partner. “When caregivers check in and call from their client’s phone, I’ve noticed that it automatically links them to their scheduled time. As long as they’re doing it accurately, we don’t have to go back and do the visit maintenance and dashboard work.”
GPS verification has also further supported accountability and compliance for visits. “We can actually see where the caregivers were at when they clocked. In one situation we ran into recently, a caregiver unfortunately wasn’t at the client’s home. But because of that feature, I was able to let them know we had caught on to them.” With this additional visibility into caregiver visits, Deslandes was able to take appropriate follow up action with the caregiver and prevent any fraud or compliance issues from taking place.
From what I hear from the caregivers, they transitioned very well. The [mobile app] is pretty simple and self-explanatory. We have a lot of older caregivers that aren’t as computer savvy, and they were able to catch on right away. That was a great thing. I didn’t have to do too much training for them.
The team plans to take advantage of the Authorizations feature to ensure there are no gaps in care, revenue, or compliance. Tracking what’s been authorized, scheduled, confirmed, and billed for homecare agencies is complex. The Authorizations feature helps homecare agencies manage complex authorization schedules to ensure they’re using all allotted hours and not missing out on potential revenue. “I’m looking forward to setting up the notifications for when the authorizations are due to expire. We didn’t have that feature in the last system. We had to constantly go back and check throughout the month,” Deslandes said.
Deslandes’ parting advice? “I would always advise people to explore their options, but I really do like HHAeXchange and the way it’s set up. It’s just very efficient.”
And for those who do decide to move forward with HHAeXchange? She recommends an important feature: “I would recommend the first thing they do is their duty list, because that is super important. That pretty much structures everything. Get a clear understanding of how that affects your plan of care, your clients, and your caregivers and definitely set that up first.”