What's New in AWARDS
The following new features, enhancements, and updates will be available in your AWARDS database beginning on Wednesday, September 21st.
BillingBuilder - Payment Transactions for $0.00 Are Included in the Consumer A/R History Report
In an effort to provide a more complete billing history report, payment transactions for $0.00 will now be included in both the Consumer A/R History Report under the Reports section of the BillingBuilder, and within the Billing History Report in the Consumer Billing Dashboard.
BillingBuilder - Remark Code Denial Data included in Remittance Worksheets and BillingBuilder ReportBuilder
To help provide more clarity around denials from payers, Remark Code data is now included within the Remittance Worksheets screen > Advice column and within the BillingBuilder ReportBuilder > Advice column.
BillingBuilder - Select All/Deselect All for Procedures When Entering Authorizations
To make authorization data entry more streamlined for users, Select All and Deselect All options have been added to the data entry and update screens for a BillingBuilder Insurance Authorization record, within the Procedure(s) column. Please Note: If a procedure has been invoiced, it cannot be deselected using the Deselect All option.
DataStudio - Patient Identifiers Now Available in Three Tables in DataStudio
Patient identifiers are now available in three tables in DataStudio: fact_services_pii, dim_consumers_pii, and fact_program_stays_pii. We selected these tables because Services and Program Stays are the two most commonly used fact tables and the consumers table can be joined to any other fact table. Agencies are responsible for making sure this data is secured by keeping two-factor authentication enabled in their Snowflake account and anywhere else this data is provided. This should make a major difference for agencies that are sending data to their own data warehouse or are working with data in a secure visualization environment where they wish to see information about the patient.
Reports Scheduler - New Training Video for Scheduling Reports!
Over the past few months, we’ve been working hard on the functionality for scheduling reports within AWARDS. We’ve received lots of questions, so we created a training video that walks you through how to schedule reports in AWARDS, including how to use Dynamic Dates. View the video below!
Working with Scheduled Reports (8 min)
Reports Scheduler - Scheduled Reports Can Now Be Canceled from the Messages Module
When reports or exports are scheduled, the report is delivered to the user’s AWARDS Messages module. Delivered reports will now indicate when the report is scheduled to run next, and will include a Cancel button. If you no longer wish to receive that scheduled report, you can cancel it by clicking the Cancel button in the message.
Two-Factor Authentication - Authentication by Email is Now an Option!
AWARDS now includes an additional option - authentication by email - for two-factor authentication when logging in. Now, in addition to using an authenticator app, two-factor authentication can be set up to send the required code to the worker’s email address. Security experts highly recommend two-factor authentication for logging in to systems that hold protected information, and this new option allows more of our customer agencies to enforce this security recommendation. Two-factor authentication by email can be set as the default for your agency, and /or it can be set up by each user as their own preferred authentication method.
A Look at What's Ahead...
Here are the dates for the next couple of AWARDS product releases so that you can keep them on your radar:
- November 2nd, 2022
- December 14th, 2022
All deployments (subject to change) are scheduled for the evenings prior to the dates listed here, making the new features and functionality they provide available to users bright and early on release days.
Connect With Us!
To see which training sessions and webinars are coming soon, check out the Upcoming Events in FootholdConnect (accessible from your AWARDS navigation bar). You can also see a current Upcoming Events Calendar in the Resource Center. See something you're interested in? Register today!
The Faces of Foothold
Alyza Tarmohamed, President & Chief Operating Officer
We at Foothold talk about ourselves collectively all the time. For example, “We” are launching new AWARDS features, or “We” are working on a large-scale initiative to redesign AWARDS. But behind the “we” are some faces that we think you should know. This section of FootNotes - The Faces of Foothold - is a place to spotlight the individuals working hard (sometimes behind the scenes) to make sure your experience of AWARDS is one that elevates the capabilities and the outcomes of the hard work you do every day.
We have a new face here at Foothold - our Chief Operating Officer, Alyza Tarmohamed! Alyza joined us a few months ago, coming from Wolters Kluwer, a global software and solutions company where she and her team built and delivered spend management software and AI-enabled compliance solutions for the legaltech market. As Foothold’s COO, Alyza leads our teams to continue delivering market-leading software solutions with features that empower the mission-critical work you, our customers, do every day. We asked Alyza a few questions about her role as COO and her vision for the future. We think you’ll appreciate her answers.
Question: What do you like most about your job?
Alyza: Without a doubt, the people! My job is all about meeting people and building relationships with people inside and outside of Foothold. Every day, I work with Foothold customers, partners, advisors, and employees to define common purposes, solve problems, and achieve goals. Getting to know people on both personal and professional levels and working with them towards a common purpose is what gets me excited about my work each day!
Question: What is your vision for Foothold’s future?
Alyza: My hope is that Foothold continues to grow as a true strategic partner and thought leader for our customers. This means that Foothold isn’t just a vendor for what our customers need today, but a valued partner with unique expertise and market knowledge that anticipates what our customers' needs will be based on where the market is going in 5, 10, or even 20 years. Ultimately, I believe Foothold will continue to grow as an innovative partner that works hand-in-hand with our customers, empowering them with the software and support they need to serve the populations in their care.
We’re very excited to have Alyza in leadership here at Foothold. You’ll be hearing more from her over the coming months as we wrap up our big projects for this year and communicate the exciting things we have planned for 2023!
Fun Fact: Alyza grew up in a pretty rural part of Canada and somehow, that resulted in her learning how to drive stick shift on a friend’s father’s tractor. (It didn’t go well, and now she only drives automatic cars. But technically, she did learn it!)
News You Can Use!
Have a Referral? - Help Spread the Word About AWARDS!
If you know anyone at a similar agency that would benefit from using AWARDS, we would appreciate your referral to a colleague at that agency. As a thank you for any referrals you pass along, we are happy to offer some additional benefits to your agency. Upon making a referral, you’ll have your pick between a free half day of training or a free ticket to our User’s Conference. And, if we ultimately sign a contract with the organization you refer to us, we have even more benefits you can choose from. These include, but are not limited to, multiple days of free training, free access to the AWARDS certification program, a deep dive conversation with members of our executive and product teams, and a free month of AWARDS for your agency.
Contact your Foothold representative for more details about our referral program. Or, click here to submit your referral.
Tip of the Month - Learn How to Report on Missing Data!
Have you ever run a report and wondered what data is missing? Who forgot to enter their note? Which client does not have an assessment completed? Who did not have a monthly summary note completed? Good news - there are ways you can get this data, and more, out of AWARDS!
Below are some examples of ways to harness reports in AWARDS to see what documentation is missing. The steps noted can be applied in various situations to help you with meaningful quality assurance work when it comes to concerns around missing documentation.
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To look for missing Progress Notes, you can use the Contact Lapse Audit Report (search “All Reports” in the Reports menu to find it). This report allows you to set the number of days in the past you want to look back in order to see when the last note was written for each client. The report can search all notes, or you can select which notes to include based on various parameters.
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If you use the Calendar to schedule program appointments and want to see which appointments are missing a related Progress Note, you can use the Calendar Events ReportBuilder (search “ReportBuilders” in the Reports menu to find it). Here, you will find a saved report format from Foothold called Foothold Report - Progress Note Summary, which will show you the appointments and whether or not related documentation was completed.
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In almost all ReportBuilders, there is an option on the initial settings page that allows you to select which individuals are included in the report (see screenshot below). AWARDS defaults to “Clients with Records,” which will only pull in data for clients with explicitly documented records. However, there is also an “All Clients” option which, when selected, will include the full program roster of clients, even if they do not have any explicitly documented records. When no data is present for a client in a report run this way, the data field will display with a “-” to reflect no data.
Moving forward, you can use these report tips to expand the levels of quality assurance and reporting you complete for your programs in AWARDS!
Follow Us on Social Media - Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook
We’re working to expand the influence of our social media, and we need your help! Please make sure to follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Also, we want to celebrate all the amazing work you do, so tag us in your posts or email elliot@footholdtechnology.com and we’ll make sure we help spread the word.
It's DSP Recognition Week! - Check Out Our Kudoboard Thanking DSPs Around the Country & Join Us for a Webinar We Are Sponsoring With NADSP!
Webinar: Recognition, Retention and Returns: How One Organization Empowers Direct Support Professionals - September 28th at 2pm ET
In this sponsored webinar from Foothold Technology and NADSP, three direct support professionals from The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region and CEO Shawn Kros share the impact of NADSP materials at their organization. This panel discussion will focus on how Arc NCR infused NADSP materials and technology into their daily operations. Shawn Kros will share data on the impact as well as the benefits of doing so in their workforce. The direct support professionals will share how they have been influenced by this cultural shift at the organization and how recognition affects their role. Don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity and click here to register!
New Podcast Episode - Sharing In Our Caring Podcast
We’ve released Episode 7 - Our Neighbors - Humanizing Homelessness. If you haven’t yet, Click here to check out our podcast, or you can search for it on your preferred podcast platform (you can find it on most podcast platforms.) We can't wait to hear what you think! If you're a podcast listener, please subscribe, rate, review, and help us spread the word!
News From the Field - With Radicle Health Board Member, David Bucciferro
PODCAST: Using EHRs to Confront the Opioid Crisis
A HIMSSCast podcast with guest David Bucciferro, vice chair of the HIMSS Electronic Health Record Association and co-chair of its Opioid Crisis Task Force.
Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems are at the core of health IT. They are essential tools in the delivery of healthcare. Further, they can be used to help solve complex healthcare problems. This HIMSSCast podcast focuses on how EHRs can be used to fight the opioid crisis in the United States.
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
- The state of the opioid crisis in the U.S. today
- Why the Electronic Health Record Association created its Opioid Crisis Task Force in 2018
- How EHRs can help fight the opioid crisis
- Formal findings of the task force in recent years
- What healthcare provider organizations CIOs and other health IT leaders should be doing today with their EHRs to help combat the opioid epidemic