Why It’s Important to Actively Manage Authorizations

The quick answer: Caregiving organizations receive limited funds to provide services to the people in their care. These funds often have complex requirements for how they are to be used and reported out on in order for the organization to receive reimbursement.

When it comes to tracking authorizations, you have a few options.

Not Tracking at All

If your organization does not have the time or resources necessary to track authorizations, it may not be tracking them at all. That is not good since many of these resources are government funded and subject to intense scrutiny. In addition, this can be a huge negative impact on your organization’s revenue stream.

Organizations that don’t actively manage their authorizations:

• Provide more services than is authorized, thus spending money that will not be reimbursed.
• Provide fewer services than is authorized, resulting in missed income potential; this is also a disservice to the person in care who could have received more services.
• Provide the right amount of services but doesn’t report them in a manner that results in sufficient reimbursement.

In all of the above, the organization is losing money.

Manual Authorization Tracking

If your organization is still manually tracking authorizations, you are not alone. Many organizations track their fiscal or unit information in spreadsheets, paper logbooks, or even using sticky notes. However, if you’re using a paper system for authorizations and a digital system for time tracking (which is required as part of EVV), you are creating redundant workflows. If the system used for time tracking is not linked to the system used for managing authorizations, you will have to do manual reconciliation.

Digital Authorization Tracking

Prevent these problems by implementing a time and attendance technology solution with real-time authorizations. The daily activities you’re already accustomed to (entering and approving employee time and client attendance) will automatically update your authorization remaining balance and alert you when you’re about to exceed limits you enter for each authorization.

Did you know DCI tracks authorizations in real time? DCI can also limit how the authorization is used by setting daily, weekly, or monthly maximums – This links to the scheduling module and will alert you if you over schedule a person in services. DCI will alert employees and supervisors if an employee is about to clock time that exceeds an authorization; it can also be configured to prevent an employee from clocking in if there is insufficient balance on the authorization. You can Visit dcisoftware.com or call (480) 295-3307 to set up a demo and see how DCI can streamline your workflows and help you manage your bottom line. 

Mindi Mitchell is the Chief Operating Officer at DCI. She can be reached via email at [email protected].