When meeting with community based providers throughout the country I am often asked how do we get technology out into our staff’s hands.  Just today my colleague Stephan Flannigan point out to me that a major retailer is selling the iPhone 3 ‘s for 19.99 and HP is selling touch pads for 99.99. This is a affordable way to get good technology in the hands of your staff. We currently have an application that runs on the iPhone, that will date, time stamp and geolocate were the note was entered. This also is great tool for quality assurance, providing back up that the service was provided in said location. As phone, tablets, and net books become cheaper it will become more affordable to get this technology out into the community. Being able to have staff entering in data as it happens is crucial. I often ask providers how can you afford not to know whats happening out in the field. By the time paper documentation is brought in and reviewed it can be anywhere from one to two weeks old.  Having technology out in the field lets you address issues in real time and find solutions to problems as they happen.

As many of you know APD announced that it will be issuing Services  Authorizations  on a quarterly basis. With this recent change it will make it even more challenging to keep track of Services Authorizations and utilization. I think I may have found a solution to that problem, enter Therap’s Billing module.  Therap’s Service Authorization allows you to streamline the process of keeping track of units utilized throughout the quarter. You can easily run a utilization report to see what percentage of the authorization has been used, which helps you not leave money on the table, resulting in take backs. The system also has a neat warning system to let you know when you have certain percentage left on the authorization. But what do we do at the end of the quarter you may ask. Thats simple, just easily adjust the dates and rate if needed and get back to work. The Therap Service Authorization will help your billing team save time and money. If you have any questions on how it works or would like a demo just let Barry or me know.

I have been running into allot of questions on live help about why can’t I enter a doctor into the system. In the past anyone that had access to the shared contact section could put in a new entry ie Dr Smith. What we have found, is that with everyone having that ability the agency databases were seeing allot of  duplicates. Agencies would wind up having 10 Dr Smith’s and staff would be unable to decipher which one was the correct choice. With 9.1 we have helped to resolve that issue. Now staff will have to be assigned the shared contact administrative role to be able to enter in a new shared contact. This gives an agency the flexibility to decide who is enter in new service providers into the database.

Release Notes

Post 9.1, only the users with the Shared Contact Administrative Role can create and update Shared Contacts. Users with the Individual Data Roles will view the details of the Shared Contacts in Read-Only mode.

This week I am training in a remote part of the panhandle for an agency that is headquartered out of central FL. Prior to using Therap if an administrator or QA person wanted to look at a document they would either have to drive out to the program (6 hour ride) or have someone fax it. Now enter the cloud and Therap. Now the admin office can review documents at multiple geographic locations in real time. This helps an agency address issues as they arise and not six months later during an audit. The benefits of Therap and cloud computing are infinite to agency’s that are spread out over vast geographic locations. Gone are the days of maintaining multiple server sites and networks. They can now view their documentation and communicate with their team anywhere that they can get a internet connection.  Its pretty cool to watch the transition from paper to the cloud.

Therap is Hiring

As Therap continues to grow, we are looking to hire a new member of our support team.  Given where we are seeing gowth and where we currently have staff based we think that someone based in the mid-Atlantic East Coast would be ideal.

Our ideal candidate has probably been a Therap user (the majority of our support staff we house managers before coming to work for Therap) and is looking for a challenging job that provides the ability to combines teaching, support, consulting, computer skills, and a lot of travel.  This position, especially during the first two years, is expected to be about 90% travel.

You will work both independantly and remotely as well as being part of a diverse and dynamic national and international organization.  You will provide live customer support in person, via instant message, at conferences and over the phone.  You will train and consult with States, Counties, single and mutli-state providers, families, self-advocates, and anyone else using Therap.  You should have an interest in computers, social media, developmental disabilities, marketing, teaching, travel, public speaking and presenting,

There is nothing quite like working for Therap, we are a unique company providing a unique service in unique environment.  If you are looking for a traditional 9-5 job, this is most definitely not the place for you.

If this sounds like the job for you ori f you have previously sent in your resume and feel like this new position could be the right one for you, please send in an updated note and resume telling us why you are the perfect addition to the Therap team.

You can send us your resume here.

Gov. Scott lifts order
requiring 15-percent cuts to
APD payments

Today APD’s annual budget was approved with some drastic cuts to funding. Once again people in this field are going to be asked to do more with less.  Attached below is a great article put together describing the impact that this will have on providers. The budget cuts could be the straw that breaks the camels proverbial back. Many of the agency’s that we meet tell us that utilizing Therap is something that they would love to do but are constrained by their budget. These cuts are going to make it even harder for agencies to become more progressive and utilize systems such as Therap.  I hate to see a field that has made such progress over that last 2o years take a hit like this.

Rick Scott Slashes Support for the Disabled

By Suzy Khhimm

Continuing his assault on Florida’s most vulnerable, Gov. Rick Scott issued an executive order on Thursday that immediately slashes money for the developmentally disabled. The cuts will reduce payments to group homes and social workers by 15 percent. The Orlando Sentinelreports:

Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered deep cuts Thursday to programs that serve tens of thousands of residents with Down syndrome,cerebral palsy, autism and other developmental disabilities…[which] providers say could put them out of business and threaten their clients’ safety.

“lt’s not like, ‘Gee, does this mean I have to skip a vacation this year?’” said Amy Van Bergen, executive director of the Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida. “Potentially, these cuts have life and death implications for these people.”

 An estimated 30,000 Floridians with severe developmental disabilities receive services that help them live outside of nursinghomes—typically with family or in small group homes. Aides help them eat, bathe, take medication and otherwise care for themselves.

But Scott’s executive order is only the first of many cuts that could hurt the disabled. With the governor’s full support, the Florida statehouse is currently considering a bill that wouldprivatize Medicaid—a proposal that would also turn health care for disabled beneficiaries in the program over to private managed care companies.

The problem is that HMOs “do not have the expertise” in dealing with developmentally disabled patients, Debra Downs, executive director of the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, warns in an interview. What’s more, “when you put [these services] into the private sector, there’s going to be some money off the top for administrative costs,” she adds, warning that HMOs could end up spending money on bureaucracy rather than services.

So Florida’s most vulnerable residents have gotten the short end of the stick as Florida trys to rein in its budget. And Republicans in Washington are following the exact same playbook.

Therap for iPhone

Therap released an app for all Apple mobile devices such as the iPhone, iPod and iPads. The app is currently available in the Apple app store and for starters it features a T-Log application with its usual perks and more. We believe the developmental disability agencies and others providing long term care will find this quite useful.

T-Log is used to document health and behavioral concerns and to act as staff-to-staff communication. They give users the ability to collect and communicate day-to-day information and progress in a way that can be efficiently followed up on. They also allow users to communicate while retaining the confidentiality as Information can be efficiently shared and followed up on in a HIPAA compliant way. We believe the developmental disability agencies and others providing long term care will find this quite useful.

Features Include:

• Voice Recording:
  For a verbal account of an event or happening to go with a note
• Location Awareness:
  Get your GPS location stored along with your note
• Image Attachment:
  Take a picture with your device to attach to a note!

Download:

• Download from Apple App Store

Resources:

Yesterday I held PA training for the newest member of our Massachusetts family, the Northeast ARC. The are a great bunch of people.  I was really impressed at their wonderful state of the art facility. I look forward to taking them from paper to Therap.

Welcome to Northeast Arc

Northeast Arc, formerly the North Shore Arc, delivers life long support services to people with developmental disabilities. With your help, these individuals are given an opportunity to live a happy and normal life.

Northeast Arc:

• Over 55 years as a vital non-profit organization
• Provides services to individuals and families who otherwise would not be supported
• Provides services including occupational, medical and housing programs
• Provides support and guidance for families
• Over 90 cents of every dollar raised goes directly to services for the families and individuals we serve

Met with the great team at the Arc of Martin County yesterday. They are the newest members of the Therap Family in Florida. Barry and I met with them to go over their provider admin training and discuss the implementation process. Like many other agency’s the Arc of Martin realizes the benefits to streamlining their documentation process by using Therap.