Lisa Frain
Aug 9 2024
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Today’s healthcare environment is fast paced, making efficiency and security in the admissions process are more important than ever. Traditional paper-based workflows are cumbersome, slow and prone to errors, leading to delays and increased operational costs. But an innovative, new solution, app-less technology, can help you streamline admissions, reduce paperwork and enhance overall efficiency.
What is app-less technology?
App-less technology offers a secure and efficient way to engage with patients, caregivers and providers without requiring them to download an application or enroll in a platform. This technology enables the transmission of messages, forms, documents and more via secure SMS text messages and email, providing a seamless and user-friendly experience.
Traditional admissions process: Challenges and pain points
The traditional admissions process is a multi-step, manual operation involving various departments:
- Intake:
- Receives referrals and gathers necessary information.
- Obtains signatures from patients, caregivers, physicians and other providers.
- Reimbursement:
- Verifies benefits and initiates prior authorization requests.
- Often requires additional information and signatures.
- Nursing:
- Schedules visits and handles a significant amount of paperwork during the first visit.
- Collects remaining signatures and information that other departments couldn’t obtain.
This manual process involves managing physical documents, which must be mailed or delivered in person, leading to potential delays, loss or damage. This inefficiency can delay billing and require rework, increasing time and costs.
Advantages of app-less workflows
App-less workflows address these challenges by providing a streamlined, secure and efficient alternative:
- Seamless integration: Adaptable to existing processes, making them more efficient without the need for significant changes.
- Digital signatures: Capture signatures electronically during visits, reducing the need for physical paperwork.
- Real-time documentation: Documents are instantly available so office staff can begin reviewing them before nurses leave the patient’s home.
- Automatic integration: Seamlessly integrates into your electronic health records (EHR) or pharmacy dispensing systems, eliminating double work.
Implementing app-less workflows: Examples and use cases
App-less technology can be particularly beneficial in these scenarios:
- Hospice providers: Obtain signatures from remote family members.
- Home health agencies: Secure timely signatures from busy physicians or pharmacists.
- Specialty pharmacies: Navigate physicians’ busy schedules to confirm medical orders.
- Home infusion providers: Collect signed documentation before starting therapy.
- Ambulatory infusion clinics: Require signatures to dispense medication at patient visits.
Sending a secure message
- Desktop view:
- Click on the message center and select “New Message.”
- Search for and select the virtual patient.
- Send an SMS message.
- Patient view:
- Receive the SMS and open it in a browser window.
- Complete verification and reply, with the message appearing back on the staff member’s desktop.
Sending a form
- Desktop view:
- Access the form center and create a new form (e.g., insurance verification).
- Send the form to a patient.
- Patient view:
- Receive a text message and open the link in a browser.
- Complete the form, which is pre-populated with existing information, and submit it.
- Desktop view:
- Access completed forms in the work list to view information such as the staff member who sent the form, patient name, site or location, send date, submission date and more.
Getting started with app-less workflows
App-less technology offers a secure, efficient and adaptable solution for streamlining the admissions process in post-acute organizations. By reducing the reliance on paper-based workflows, organizations can improve efficiency, reduce costs and enhance the overall patient and staff experience.
Transitioning to app-less workflows is simple and straightforward. If you’re ready to transform your admissions process, reach out to us to take the first steps.
