Patients are choosing to receive healthcare in their homes, but they can only receive that care if there are clinicians available to provide it. Axxess Care makes that care more accessible by giving home health clinicians freedom to work when and where they want and earn extra money doing what they know and love.
Shelley Bailey, RN, BSN, Senior Product Manager at Axxess, recommends clinicians focus on the following three strategies for success using Axxess Care:
- Complete your profile.
- Set yourself up to easily navigate your earnings.
- Manage your visits and documentation.
Complete Your Profile
A clinician’s profile on Axxess Care provides important information to home health organizations looking for someone to cover a visit. Clinicians must upload their professional license and CPR certification to their profile to apply for visits. The name entered in the profile must match the name on the clinician’s professional license, and this license is verified monthly.
Some organizations will need additional documentation based on the requirements of their state, accrediting agency or internal policies. The “Certifications” tab in the profile enables clinicians to add these under “Other.”
Clinicians can add additional certifications, such as wound care or intravenous administration, to give home health organizations more confidence in their abilities.
“Your clinician profile on the app is your mobile HR packet,” Bailey said. “This will house the required documents as well as those that elevate your visit application when compared to other clinicians.”
Set Up Easy Earning Navigation
Clinicians are required to add a checking account for direct deposit when setting up their Axxess Care account. Bailey recommends having a separate checking account for Axxess Care earnings.
“A dedicated account for your Axxess Care earnings allows you to easily reconcile your account with your earnings on the app, prepare yourself for tax time and see your growth,” Bailey said.
Bailey also recommends clinicians take steps now to ease their burden at tax time. This includes keeping receipts for supplies and equipment used, setting aside some earnings for tax liability and uploading a W-9 tax form in the Axxess Care app.
Manage Your Visits and Documentation
Carefully managing their visits will help clinicians stay on top of their documentation and maintain continuity of care for patients relying on their support. Clinicians should only apply for visits they will be able to perform and document on the day it is scheduled. If a clinician accepts but then cannot perform a visit on the scheduled date, it should be returned to the organization so they can repost it for a new date or assign it to another clinician.
“Late documentation has consequences for you, including holding payment and possibly suspension from picking up more visits through the app,” Bailey said. “Consequences for the home health organization include losing reimbursement for the episode, citations on a survey and disruption to the patient’s plan of care.”
To ensure accurate documentation and the best care for the patient, clinicians should document at the point of care. Bailey recommends starting visits in the Axxess Care app when clinicians are with the patient, which will enable electronic visit verification (EVV) and open the visit note. Axxess Care has a “Load Previous” feature in visit notes to easily compare and address any abnormal findings from previous visits. Documentation should be submitted within 24 hours.
“If you are a clinician, as I am, you understand your responsibility to your patient,” Bailey said. “Late documentation means changes in the patient’s assessment, medication and treatment could be missed, which can potentially cause harm to your patient. Committing to and prioritizing timely documentation will decrease your stress and increase your care quality, increasing your ratings and value as a clinician.”
Bailey also encourages clinicians to maintain communication with the home health organization for coordination of care. Axxess Care provides contact phone numbers and secure messaging for each visit, from the “Organizations” tab and in the patient profile.
“Overcommunicating is not possible,” Bailey said. “This will keep you and the organization in compliance with the conditions of participation and the plan of care, and it will build your relationship with the organization.”
Axxess Care gives clinicians the tools to work independently and easily navigate the management of their “side-gig.” Completing the clinician profile, early preparation of earnings and staying on track with documentation will reduce any bumps in the road of self-employment.
Axxess Care, a powerful scheduling and staffing solution, connects organizations with qualified clinicians to ensure patients get the care they need and deserve.