Form and Function: 5 Features to Look for in Hospice Software

Quality hospice care continues to be in great demand, partially due to demographics. By 2030, all Baby Boomers will be 65 or older, which accounts for almost 20 percent of the country’s total population.¹ Meanwhile, data from a recent hospice study of patients with terminal cancer notes that hospice care has a “positive impact on improving the quality of life and psychological status of patients.”²

An aging population combined with demonstrable hospice care benefits is driving market growth — and subsequently the need for hospice software tools capable of keeping pace. Not sure what tools to look for? Here are five of the best features to consider when exploring hospice software solutions:

1) Intuitive Intake Management

Hospice care starts the moment new patients are admitted. If intake processes are cumbersome or complex, however, this can lead to frustration for both staff and new arrivals alike. Teams are well-served with a comprehensive hospice management suite that offers an intuitive admissions process. This includes step-by-step frameworks that simplify intake while ensuring operational compliance. Equally as important is a management suite that also provides data about referral details, pending admissions, and outstanding issues to improve intake management.

2) Streamlined Scheduling

Some of the best hospice software includes streamlined scheduling management processes. With hospice care mainly taking place in homes, as well as at designated facilities, skilled staff are often on the move all day. As a result, they can benefit from having tools that allow them to check and manage schedules on-demand. In practice, this means funneling intake data directly into scheduling, offering a personalized schedule view for each staff member, and making it easy to annotate or amend visit information.

3) End-to-End Documentation

Clear documentation can help drive hospice success. Interdisciplinary groups (IDGs) can find it helpful to have access to complete and comprehensive hospice documentation on a per-patient basis to coordinate efforts and ensure staff isn’t held backtracking down specific documents in IDG meetings. End-to-end documentation can then allow nurses and clinicians to focus on a patient’s needs during visits by taking advantage of comprehensive entry screens that offer a single point of data entry.

4) Robust Billing Frameworks

From private insurance to Medicare hospice billing, hospice providers often look at where revenue is coming from, along with any potential claims challenges that may arise. From real-time billing reports that help track revenue streams, to predefined billing rules, auditing, and more, robust billing frameworks are key features of effective hospice software solutions.

5) Enhanced Clinical Oversight

Whether it’s hospice quality reporting or CAHPS surveys and IDG forms, improved clinical oversight means greater confidence in hospice data reporting. To achieve this goal, hospice providers can benefit from software tools that include hard stops and alerts if visit documentation isn’t complete, along with regular comprehensive assessments to ensure patient data is specific, detailed, and accurate.

With all of these features in hand, hospice providers can empower staff to do what they do best — provide compassionate care for patients.  Find out how Net Health Hospice can help. Get started today.

References:

¹ United States Census Bureau, “2020 Census Will Help Policymakers Prepare for the Incoming Wave of Aging Boomers,” December 10, 2019.
² NCBI, “Effects of Hospice Care on Quality of Life and Negative Emotions in Patients with Advanced Tumor,” July 2, 2020.