Best Practices for EVV Software in Home Care

EVV: a necessary component of compliance, but how do we spend less time billing and more time doing what matters?

As frustrating as EVV may be at times, technology has evolved to make the process easier. In today’s article, we’re going to share best practices to make EVV as pleasant as possible for you to stay compliant. 

The average home care owner spends 100 days each year on bookkeeping and administrative tasks. This work, though necessary, takes you away from more mission-critical tasks like ensuring client satisfaction, caregiver satisfaction, and more. 

Let’s get you some time back in your day with a few tips to keep your EVV in check. Those include: 

• Identifying visits that need to be looked at further
• Having one place to manage all of your claims
• Communicate with your caregivers 

Identify visits that need to be looked at further

Most of your agency’s shifts might go as planned, but are you able to pinpoint shifts that need a second look? 

Manually looking at a wall of your entire schedule for every client can make it easy for one late clock-in visit to go unnoticed. Here are 9 considerations to be mindful of when auditing shifts to ensure that your electronic visit verification claims go through the first time.

9 considerations for your EVV auditing process

• Ensure that all EVV data is received and correct. 

EVV is designed to gather at least six specific pieces of data. That can include: 

• Service type 
• Who is receiving the service
• Date(s) of service
• Location of service 
• Caregiver’s name
• Start and end time

This can serve as a checklist for each shift, to make sure that all of the information was entered by the caregiver or generated by GPS, etc…

• Identify anomalies

This is slightly different from the last tip, in that you’re specifically scanning for things that might be off. Home care software platforms should color code and have a way of indicating to you what types of shifts are out there, whether they’re scheduled, open, and when a caregiver is working. 

• Care plan task and time validation

Aside from just making sure that caregivers arrive to a client’s house on time, ensure that the care plan tasks line up with what is provided. For example, if a caregiver is on a night shift, ensure that a shower task is not assigned at that time and that notes are consistent with shift times, etc…

• Care note validation 

Care notes should support the client’s care plan and align with what caregivers are doing with their clients. Care notes may also give clarity to EVV difficulties and discrepancies, like if a client was being discharged home from the hospital and they weren’t at the normal clock-in location.

• Confirm the caregiver’s location

With the uniquely mobile in-home caregiver workforce, you need visibility into where caregivers are showing up and when. Knowing the location can also help you to refine geofencing and the radius to allow a caregiver to clock-in within. EVV is a helpful tool in reassuring you and families that caregivers are where they’re supposed to be. 

• Gather input from caregivers (to identify issues as they come up and ways to resolve them)

EVV is not without flaws like any other system, but that requires putting an ear to the ground. Your caregivers are an important source of information on the effectiveness of EVV and solutions to many of the discrepancies you might notice on your end. 

You could also perform a test shift setting your office location as the client's home to see how sensitive the location radius is, and make adjustments accordingly. 

• Issue solutions to any recurring or new problems regarding EVV

No audit is complete without finding solutions to any issues that come up. A few might include: 

• If a caregiver misses their clock-in but is tending to a client, make sure to correct their shift entry to reflect the accurate time period that the client received care.
• If caregivers need assistance in clocking in or out, or using their EVV app, be sure to issue training and other education to supplement their understanding. 
  
  
• Document and report any issues that may come up

If it’s not documented, it’s not done they say. Set up a process to record issues as they happen and it can serve as a learning opportunity. 

For example, if you have clients who live in an area with poor cellular reception, be sure to inform caregivers if their EVV app has an offline option or instruct them to use a client’s home phone to clock-in instead. 

Some home care software programs have optional ways of further validating entries, including a client signature or voice verification. 

• Stay in the regulatory loop and up-to-date

As you already know, the regulatory landscape is always changing in home care. 

As an example, California’s EVV laws were updated this July. This meant that for the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) and Waiver Personal Care Services (WCPS) programs, caregivers who aren’t live-in caregivers are required to clock in and clock out at the beginning and end of each day and to verify where services are being provided. 

Having one place to manage all of your claims

It can take anywhere from 15-30 minutes per shift to go from caregiver clock-out to billing-ready. For a home care agency with say, 20 clients, that could consume an entire day’s worth of work, switching from one data source and platform to another. 

By condensing your tech stack and agency management software, you can work toward reducing the amount of time spent on claims and improving accuracy the first time around. When EVV first came about, it created a lot of tension for home care owners, trying to find the best solution that fit their needs. 

It’s important to find the right EVV provider for you, especially when you need a platform with functionalities to communicate and send information to other platforms and clearinghouses. Some states only want EVV information from one platform and collect claims information from another platform. It varies widely. 

With this in mind, CareTime’s V3 release includes a comprehensive view of all of your claims and EVV data, eliminating the need to switch between 2 platforms. With intuitive search settings and filters, you can find the shifts you need to work on and the platform will also flag claims that are likely to get rejected. You’ll know exactly what the status of a claim is, and if there’s anything holding the claim up.

Another benefit of reorganizing your tech stack is safety and security. The more platforms and accounts, there is a compounded risk of a data breach, especially with the volume of personal information gathered through EVV. 

Communicate with your caregivers

What is a tip like this doing here? It’s simple. EVV starts with your caregivers. Your success with EVV hinges upon their ability to understand and execute EVV when they’re with their clients. It’s important to stress throughout a caregiver’s first 90 days—and throughout their tenure—the value that they bring to the table and to recognize them for the role they play in maintaining your agency’s compliance. 

Their ability to clock in on time and clock out when they leave is not only a part of their workday but a linchpin for your reimbursement. Their care notes verify the work that they do. 

Caregivers may not understand the significance or reason behind the use of electronic visit verification in their work, and orientations as well as training serve as an opportunity for you to share that. 

If they’re using personal cell phones to clock-in, they may need more information to feel comfortable with enabling their location settings. Be sure to consult FLSA regulations regarding personal cellphone usage and reimbursement for employees while they’re on the job. If you have any legal questions, please check out our partner, Polsinelli, as they specialize in this space. 

More broadly, share that EVV is helpful for a variety of reasons. It helps clients keep their care plans accurate since they see them frequently. It’s helpful for families when they view care notes, to get a pulse on the day-to-day and how their loved one is doing. Lastly, it can also verify that they were with their clients in the event of a medical emergency. 

EVV Is Your Friend (In Compliance)

Complex is one way of referring to EVV, but it’s also a way to verify and validate the services that you provide. It also lends perspective to the outcomes that your caregivers produce.

By following these best practices, you’ll be on track to receive timely payment. To exponentially impact your bottom line, we’ve created CareTime V3 to help your home care agency become the best version of itself.