Customer Support During the COVID-19 Pandemic

We continue to be amazed by the resilience of our customers in the midst of this COVID-19 crisis, and we are proud to celebrate and support the great work being done. In response to our clients’ needs, we’ve[-9 updated AWARDS functionality to include a few new features.

Current Clients:

For detailed information on all things COVID-19 as it relates to AWARDS, please visit the COVID-19 Response Center in AWARDS Online Help. 

Additionally, please stay in close contact with your Implementation Consultant or Senior Customer Success Manager for any questions you have about how we can best support you in this time.

COVID-19 Screening and Triage FormBuilder Forms

• COVID-19 Awareness Screening Form – This form was developed for your use as a generic screening tool that we hope will be useful in your programs.  (Please note that it is not intended to be a medical screening or diagnostic tool, but rather to help programs manage their work around COVID-19 education and screening.)  
• COVID-19 Client Triage Tool: Atlanta CoC – This form was brought to our attention via the HUD Exchange, and was developed by the Atlanta Continuum of Care as a triage tool for shelters.

Telehealth

We understand that provision of Telehealth services has become part of the daily workflow for many of our customers and have been making adjustments to AWARDS that will allow you to record and bill for these services.

• Billing Configuration – A “Telehealth” option is added to the “location” selection list in progress notes. Additionally, a “Telehealth Collateral” note type has been added for billable service notes.
  •  Emergency Billing for New York State – PROS, ACT, and Adult BH HCBS – New emergency billing requirements have been released with a retroactive effective date of March 7th.  Applying these requirement changes to AWARDS has been our top priority.
    • PROS – We have updated the logic used to generate invoices in BillingBuilder to bill under the emergency rules. We are currently working on modifying the PROS Summary Record of Service Report as well.
    • ACT – We are working to put these billing changes into development so they can be ready for use soon. 
    • Adult BH HCBS – We are working to determine what changes will need to be made for Adult HCBS billing. As of now, we don’t anticipate major changes to the service documentation. 
  • Services Documentation – Individual – The steps necessary to document Telehealth services in AWARDS for those agencies using the AWARDS BillingBuilder functionality are directly linked to the type of program you are working in. 
• Services Documentation – Group – To accommodate documentation needs when utilizing telehealth in a group setting, several optional enhancements are available as of May 6th, and can be turned on in your AWARDS database by request.  Using these enhancements, group notes can be documented to reflect any combination of in person and telehealth attendees as needed.
• Zoom Integration – Foothold integrated Zoom into AWARDS with a single sign-on to allow providers to conveniently and securely start meetings without leaving AWARDS.  While researching telemedicine options we found that Zoom enables service providers to connect with clients in a HIPAA-secure way, while accommodating a variety of different activities from one-on-one counseling, to meetings in a group setting.  We also found that many of our agencies had already adopted Zoom, thus making an integration top priority. Please note that this enhancement is no longer available. However we continue to evaluate telehealth integration needs – incorporating more or different telemedicine applications, or renewing the AWARDS Zoom integration based on the needs of providers.

• Additional Telehealth Related Resources

• • 4Med+ – Navigating the New Normal – Tech, Telehealth and Security in a Crisis

• • CMS.GOV – Medicare Telemedicine Health Care Provider Fact Sheet

• • HHS.GOV – FAQs on Telehealth and HIPAA during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency

• • HHS.GOV – Notification of Enforcement Discretion for telehealth remote communications during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency

Vital Signs

Want to track client temperature and other critical health info?  The AWARDS Vital Signs tool is a great way to do so.  It can be used as a standalone feature in the Medical module, or set so that it is also accessible via client face sheets.  (Note that as of May 6th, vital signs information displayed on client face sheets now includes temperature automatically so that it is no longer necessary to click into the vital sign record from the face sheet to view that detail.)