EVV Vendor
Electronic visit verification (EVV) vendors in the U.S offer home health, home care, and personal care agencies the technology required for compliance with the requirements for visits set forth by the 21st Century Cures Act. With many agencies having difficulties meeting tight EVV implementation deadlines even before the Covid-19 pandemic, only a few states met the federally mandated deadline for personal care services, which was Jan. 1, 2020. Good faith exemptions and extensions often eased the burden, adding another year or more for agencies to work with state-provided solutions, select their own preferred EVV vendor, an alternate EVV system, or work with their current home health software providers towards compliance.
Click here to learn more about Home Health Software with Built-in EVV
EVV VENDOR INFORMATION
While the deadline for personal care agencies already passed in January of 2021 for many states, and extensions for homecare services moved into 2023 what should agencies be considering when selecting an EVV vendor?
Is my state currently offering a free EVV system?
Companies like Sandata, Tellus, and others work with states as an EVV aggregator, offering EVV options including training, guidance on visit protocols, and online classes or resources on EVV compliance. While in some cases, these systems provide a “No-bells-and-whistles” version of EVV functionality, you may check with your official state Medicaid website for information on whether a cost-free EVV system is available. Click here to view Alora’s EVV Vendor solution.
Does my current EVV vendor or the system I am considering meet the requirements set forth by the 21st Century Cures Act?
The 21st Century Cures act outlines the requirements of data that an approved EVV system must collect to remain in compliance with the EVV mandate. An approved EVV software must collect:
- The Exact date and time services were performed
- The start and end time of services provided
- The type of service performed
- The location where services were provided
- The name of the individual who provided services
- The name of the individual who received services
Am I free to choose any EVV system, and what EVV implementation model is my state operating under?
Various U.S states have set forth differing guidelines that affect what type of EVV vendor you can select. There are multiple models that states have adopted. There are a few basic EVV models the majority of states have chosen to implement:
Open vendor EVV model: The open model EVV state generally will choose an official EVV vendor and electronic visit verification data aggregator. Agencies are then free to utilize these state-sponsored EVV vendors free of cost. Alternatively, an agency may work with an EVV vendor of their choosing or their existing solution at their own expense, so long as the alternative EVV software can successfully integrate with the state’s chosen EVV data aggregator.
Mandated EVV system: Not as popular among states as the open model, under this state model type, agency providers HAVE TO use whatever state-sponsored, state-funded EVV vendor is selected.
State-mandated external vendor: Agency providers must use the state-sponsored, state-funded vendor.
State-mandated In-house EVV system: A state may elect to create and manage a unique EVV system, and informed all providers that it must be used.
Provider choice EVV model: Under this model providers select an EVV vendor and will cover the costs. In some cases, a state that uses this model may raise reimbursement rates to offset the costs to agencies.
Managed care organization (MCO) choice: Under this model, MCOs select an EVV vendor and cover the costs, generally with support from the state.
EVV Vendor Verification Methods
To ensure that EVV meets requirements without problems, some of the more popular functionality includes:
- GPS-enabled mobile apps which can be installed on phones of nurses and caregivers
- Interactive voice response (IVR), allowing nurses and caregivers to use a toll-free phone number which must be dialed from the patient’s home phone
- A dedicated electronic visit verification device within the patient’s residence
EVV implementation deadlines can also be unique to each state, particularly with the number of good faith extensions granted. The federal mandate set forth in the 21st Century Cures Act requires electronic visit verification for personal care services to begin on Jan. 1, 2020 (Jan. 1, 2021, in states that received a “good faith effort” exemption). The EVV requirement for home health care services (HHCS) was extended to Jan. 1, 2023.
How do I find the best EVV vendor?
Some agencies if residing in a state that provides a free EVV option, will go with that option to simply meet the requirement. While this can be an effective strategy, it can still pose the problem of managing visits in two separate systems, complicating work and increasing the chances of costly errors.
THE MAJOR UPSIDE OF HAVING EVV INTEGRATED INTO YOUR SOFTWARE
Managing EVV outside of your home health software, in example through a stand-alone system, requires you to re-enter data. This process takes time and introduces the possibility of mistakes caused by human error.
Alora software integrates EVV into a complete, easy-to-use software. All of the information for each visit — about the patient, caregiver, agency, schedules, and service provided – is built-in.
So, your caregiver doesn’t have to re-enter information … and your agency gets the benefit of accuracy and efficiency.
Your agency has a choice to make: 1) Manage EVV separately through a stand-alone system or 2) manage it through full-solution software that has EVV built-in. If you choose the latter, you need to look at agency management software from a vendor that’s certified by your state as an “alternate” vendor.
Alora is designated as an alternate EVV vendor in many states. And in many others, we’re waiting for the states to announce their EVV requirements so that we can tailor our EVV solution to meet state regulations.
INTEGRATION WITH EVV AGGREGATORS
Alora has built connectivity with many EVV aggregators, including, Sandata, Tellus, HHAeXchange, and Optum, to automatically transmit EVV data. This connectivity allows agencies to use Alora as their all-in-one solution for EVV and agency management. Alora automatically transmits all visits completed as planned to the EVV aggregator. Alora flags visits with discrepancies – such as caregiver forgetting to clock out – for manual review before transmitting to the aggregator.
WHY ALORA SOFTWARE FOR EVV
No other software company has more expertise in EVV than Alora. Here’s why:
We were fully integrating EVV into our platform even before federal legislation passed; and we’ve been tailoring our solution to meet the exact requirements and processes of state Medicaid agencies, which vary from state to state.
Alora was the first alternate software solution provider authorized by several states that have implemented EVV.
By choosing Alora, you’ll not only meet the EVV requirement – all of your EVV activities and information will be completely tied into scheduling, billing, payroll and every other aspect of your home care services.
Here’s what EVV by Alora looks like for your agency:
- Your caregiver opens the Alora app on any mobile device and clicks “Start Visit.”
- Alora immediately begins capturing complete information about the visit, integrating it into your agency workflow data.
- You can monitor live visits as they occur inside the client’s home.
- You see delayed visits and no-shows with up-to-the-minute updates.
- You can speed up billing – because all information from the visit is immediately reflected in claims and payroll processes.
- Your caregivers and aides are empowered. They can complete their visit notes (Alora generates visit notes based on client’s POC), check their schedules, look up client information, and communicate with your agency through secure mail (with text notification).
- Your nurses are empowered, too – Alora’s EVV gives them quick access to SN Note and OASIS, so their workflow at the patient’s home is easy and straightforward.
- Having both GPS based EVV and Telephony options available, with Alora, your caregivers can always capture EVV information.
- Your agency will eliminate the need for paper timesheets and paper visit notes from all caregivers, including aides/PCWs. With Alora, your agency can achieve a paperless operation