CellTrak Blog

Organizations that provide in-home health care are constantly challenged to improve the accuracy of services delivered. When care delivery doesn't match the care plan prescribed, the impacts can be serious and may include:

It’s often said that the key to success for modern organizations is to find the optimum marriage of people, processes and technology. That’s certainly true for home health care organizations these days. With pressure rising on all sides to reduce costs and improve margins, agencies must find the right balance on that three-legged stool.

Coordination. Communication. Collaboration.

In August, the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an information bulletin on “Suggested Approaches for Strengthening and Stabilizing the Medicaid Home Care Workforce.” With home care services growing rapidly, the CMS recognizes the need to also care for the workforce that is delivering home-based care.

It isn’t easy to deliver home care efficiently and effectively. There are just so many variables, including:

Cut back or dive in? When profit margins are getting squeezed, the hair-trigger reaction is “Cut costs!” Reduce staff, rein in capital expenses, cut anything that’s deemed “non-essential.”

Since new labor laws have taken effect this year, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) lawsuits against home health care agencies have popped up faster than Usain Bolt runs the curve in the 200-meter dash.

The squeeze is on. In the home health care market, operating margins are tight and getting tighter. Since agencies depend heavily on the capricious world of reimbursements, the fastest, often easiest way to boost margins is to reduce costs. Agencies need to examine every facet of their business, searching for ways to gain efficiencies and improve productivity.

The dog days of summer proved to be far from lethargic for the U.S. Department of Justice this year. In one late-July week, the DOJ charged three people in a $1 billion scheme of conspiracy, obstruction, money laundering and health care fraud. It was the single largest criminal case in the nine-year history of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.

Health care delivery has evolved rapidly over the last decade. Medical treatments performed in a hospital or clinic still comprise a large chunk of care, but according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the fastest growing industry is home health care services. Employment for home care services is projected to increase by almost 60 percent between 2012 and 2022.