The article discusses how starting a home care business can be a wise venture, and lists some important questions you need to answer if this is a path you wish to take.

You can read the article online here.

San Diego, CA  – June 9, 2011 – HomeTrak, the leader in home care management and scheduling software, today announced the release of HomeTrak Companion’s newest feature, Achievements. Users of HomeTrak Companion with multiple offices, franchise structures or single offices desiring measurement tools for target goals now have access to the powerful Achievements functionality.

HomeTrak Companion’s Achievements allows users to view dozens of reports and shows how well offices meet weekly or monthly goals.  Rick Morey, President of HomeTrak Software explains, “In communicating with our user base we discovered that agencies with multiple locations or franchise home offices were struggling to connect the data dots for effective goal management.  With Achievements, home offices can set measurement parameters and the data is automatically uploaded from each location, providing the home office with an instant and ongoing eye on performance.”

In the new Achievements module of HomeTrak Companion, users can view data in many ways including a stoplight report which illustrates in green (above average), yellow (average) and red (below average) areas of measurement as well as graphic representations with various charts. Users can sort the data in many ways to create reports for individual achievements, historical overviews and much more.

Achievements is fully customizable and offices can set up target values and choose what measurements they would like to run based on the fit for their agency.  Achievement measurements can include number of new clients, target hourly billing rate, hours scheduled, new referrals and many more. Once the target goals are set, the Achievements section will run automatic reports for the agency to measure actual metrics with target goals.  Morey continues, “This is the first time multi-office agencies can effectively measure goal performance and make educated management decisions with benchmarked data.  We are extremely proud to office this feature and believe it is another way HomeTrak Companion sets itself apart as the best in home care scheduling and management software.”

Additional features include the ability to change or adjust target goals at any time, which will not affect historical data.  HomeTrak Companion stores all historic targets and allows for accurate measurement over time. As the company grows, targets can change and it will not affect the historical picture of the agency.

HomeTrak has provided a demo video about the new Achievements feature included here: www.hometrak.com/ls/demo13.swf.  To view all demo videos, please visit www.hometrak.com/general/experience-it.

For a free demo or to view videos about updated features in HomeTrak Companion, please call 1-866-740-6011.

About HomeTrak

Since 2001, HomeTrak has been owned and operated by an experienced private duty homecare industry team. It is this depth of experience (well over 25 years) and commitment that builds this superior software to enable clients to meet business challenges. Owned by Rick Morey, Alex Kapteyn and Ray Kapteyn, the company now has well over 1,100 satisfied customers in the United States, Canada and Europe. As a homecare leader, Rick is a charter member of the National Private Duty Association (NPDA) and serves on their board of directors. For more information visit HomeTrak on the web at www.hometrak.com, or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/hometrak.

Home care agencies can take their scheduling software on the road with the new HomeTrak Companion iPad application, dubbed “Companion on the Road.”  Announced by HomeTrak, the leader in home care management and scheduling software, the application is available for download now through iTunes and is free to all users.

Created for non-medical home care agencies, HomeTrak Companion is designed to meet the needs of those operating a home care business. It tracks detailed and ever-changing information on clients and caregivers while keeping the agency informed of who is referring those clients and caregivers. The iPad application integrates with DropBox to allow users to take information on the road with them without relying on access to Wi-Fi.  Features accessible through the iPad application includes caregiver/client schedules, contacts and maps.

“Many of our Companion users are on the road, going from site to site and needed a way to easily tap into information quickly and easily.  Working with some of our power users, we decided creating an iPad application was the way to go,” commented Rick Morey, CEO of HomeTrak.

The addition of “Companion on the Road” is another step in providing users with access to information anytime, from anywhere. Using the Export to DropBox feature in Companion, contact and schedule information can be exported and downloaded onto the mobile device by syncing using a DropBox account. The app is designed to manually download exported information in DropBox so that it is available when there is no access to a computer running Companion or a wireless network connection. All information downloaded to the mobile device is read-only.

Morey continued, “Our ‘Companion on the Road’ app is great for afterhours access or when travelling to client sites.  All users have to do is set up what information they would like access to on their iPads and then sync with DropBox.  All of this information is then available at their fingertips wherever they go with their iPad.  We predict a lot more flexibility and remote access to information with our new app being available to users.”

The application is available for download from iTunes by searching for “hometrak”.  Click on “Companion for the Road” and download for free. For a free demo or to view screenshots of “Companion on the Road”, please visit http://www.hometrak.com/key-information/ipad-app or call 1-866-740-6011.

Food for thought on starting a private pay division for home-health agencies

by Rick Morey, HomeTrak Software

Each month I speak with hundreds of home care entrepreneurs and existing agencies. There is a clear trend emerging within the industry: the demand for private pay homecare services is on the rise. With Medicare and governmental reimbursement levels an uncertainty, businesses within the home health care system are realizing that by implementing a private pay in-home care division, there is a great opportunity for expanded revenue sources. If you are an owner of a home health agency and are interested in adding private duty, then there are a few things to consider before taking the plunge into opening a private duty care agency.

If 2011 holds the promise of private duty for you, there should be a considerable amount of planning and thought before its launch. As someone who works with private duty agencies, and as a former owner, there are distinct differences in success and operational structure from a Medicare certified agency. This article will cover some of those points and provide some food for thought.

Medicare = Regulated | Private Duty = Entrepreneurial

While some of the caregiving services might be overlapping, the mindset of the owner has to completely shift when operating a business for which one pays for services out of pocket. The audience to whom you are selling  is completely different. You are offering a set of services that are non-skilled for the most part, and dealing with an entirely new set of caregivers, many who might have a lower level of education and more economic hardships than the group with which you are used to dealing. A private duty business  is  like starting an entirely separate business within a business. You have most likely been operating in a regulations and reimbursement governed mindset, dealing with federal and/or state oversight agencies, discharge planners, etc. You haven’t been listening, educating and solving problems; you’ve been selling services that are reimbursed and guaranteed to be used when the need arises. If you provide a good, legitimate service done well, some market share is guaranteed.

With private pay, the game changes. To succeed you must have an entrepreneurial approach. It is up to your team to sell these services, seek out new audiences and referral sources, measure marketing methods’ effectiveness, etc. You will have much more competition on the private pay side and you will need to learn to practice sound marketing strategy and differentiate. Taking this attitude for your private pay business will set you up for much more potential success.

The first step should be to set up a new company that is separate legally from your Medicare company. Otherwise you may have to follow rigid Medicare regulations that are unnecessary and costly.

Operations/Systems Integration

How do you currently keep track of your patients/direct care staff? Is scheduling done by slotting providers into timeslots, or grouping for skillsets and then geographic proximity? One of the most important parts of planning for private duty is matching the client request for service time with available providers who also match for personality or some softer skill like cooking styles that are familiar.

You need to have a plan for successfully running two separate operations. Software that works for  a Medicare certified agency or a Medicaid waiver program might not work at all for private duty. Think about matching each and every caregiver/care provider to a client based on a variety of items that far outweigh a match for just availability and some certification. When you are deciding about what is needed in software to start a private duty agency look for other characteristics in your platform as well, such as access from anywhere, billing integration, client management and even referral marketing.

Marketing Differently
Another key difference between Medicare certified and the private pay model is who buys services, and thus who is targeted. A very successful model for the private pay side is referral marketing over a very wide range of possibilities, not just the medical system. Determine the best sources for referrals in your area such as connecting with local churches, elder law attorneys, Veterans’ offices, senior centers and funeral homes to reach those who might refer for prospective clients at any point when they first need care.

Also keep in mind that private pay services can also be a great compliment when Medicare benefits run out. If you are a Medicare agency already, then you are now a one-stop solution for clients. Make sure to market yourself that way; it will help you stand out!

Finally, remember that private duty clients are often with you for years. Recognize that in each case that may occur and establish personal relationships with each of them.

Starting Over with Policies & Procedures

You may think that you have policies and procedures covered since you have been running a successful home healthcare agency. Because the type of caregiving is different, you will be taking on different types of clients and seeking less skilled and certified caregivers. You can use your current policies/procedures but you need to take a keen eye to them to make certain they address the specific needs of a private pay model. If your current documentation seems to be lacking, you don’t necessarily have to create it yourself. There are a number of resources available for purchase that are specifically written for private duty. Simply Google “Start Private Duty” and see what comes up!

Develop a Recruitment and Retention Plan for Caregivers

As with the skilled side, you are only as good as your caregivers, your direct care providers. However, it seems to be more challenging to find good non-medical caregivers. Where many private duty agencies fall down is in planning for caregiver recruitment and retention. Do not treat the private duty staff as though they are “lesser than” the skilled side. They must be respected and provided the tools they need to succeed.  Make sure to offer ongoing training/education, caregiver rewards programs, etc. By making an attractive work environment, you will have a larger pool to choose from and a more satisfied caregiver workforce, leading to less turnover and better consistency in staffing.

Network & Learn

Don’t assume you know everything because you have operated a successful home health care agency. The one piece of advice I most strongly recommend is to network with other owners who have successfully navigated the addition of private pay services. Join groups and associations dedicated to private duty and soak in as much information as you can. Here are two of the associations available for private duty agencies:

• National Private Duty Association
• Private Duty Home Care Association

About the author

Rick Morey has been in the home care industry since 1993. He owned a large home care company in California and Arizona which had annual sales of $6,000,000. He sold that company to a venture capital company in 2000 and started a new home care company in Las Vegas, NV. Soon thereafter he began HomeTrak, a scheduling & management software platform for the private duty home care industry. Rick is a charter member of the National Private Duty Home Care Association and is currently on the NPDA board of directors. For more information about Rick, please visit www.HomeTrak.com or on Twitter @HomeTrak.  Rick also moderates a HomeCare Technology group on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/2832547.

HomeTrak Software

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