GPS Case Tracking for Home Health Agencies

GPS (Global Positioning System) is an accurate worldwide navigational and surveying facility based on the reception of signals from an array of orbiting satellites. Oxford English Dictionary

GPS has become an integral part of home health care services in managing and tracking caregiver staff,  A mobile device is all that is required for staff scheduling, dispatching  and timekeeping. GPS home health care case tracking has become a major tool in meeting EVV (Electronic Visit Verification) requirements in the post-2020 healthcare industry. 

Home health care agencies that utilize GPS technology through mobile apps for managing their workforce have found that their tasks have become greatly simplified.

Benefits of Using GPS to Track Cases

• Dispatching of Caregivers and "Uber-like" services
• Routing and Driving Directions
• Automatic Mileage Tracking
• Meeting EVV Requirements
• Administrative Benefits and HRMS

Dispatching of Home Health Caregivers

As an employee of an agency that utilizes home health care apps and GPS, a home health caregiver does not have to travel and check in at facilities to get their assignments, they can be dispatched from their homes or their vehicles in real-time via an "Uber-styled" app.

Similar to the"Uber-like" systems which rely on GPS, caregiver and transportation services to and from medical appointments can be arranged through apps. Often multiple choices are available as caregivers and transporters are competing for business and a client can make choices based on the cost benefits available to them.  Scheduling services can also be automated for regularly scheduled appointments. And again, Medicare and private insurances often cover these services or at a reduced cost for the client

Routing and Driving Directions

Information and directions based on GPS can be communicated via a mobile app. Clients can also be advised of arrival times based on a caregiver’s location. Agencies can locate their caregivers and download client address information.

Automatic Mileage Tracking for Cases

Reimbursing in-home caregivers and aides that use their personal vehicle for transportation to and from cases can create an accounting nightmare.  Health workers spend a great deal of their time traveling from case to case and can easily accrue many hundreds of miles per week that needs to be tracked and reimbursed.  GPS case staffing apps are a viable solution to automate not only the mileage reimbursement tracking, but also the EVV and payroll aspects of case management. 

Today, many agencies are providing an "Uber-like" approach to case servicing, in which a home health care professional can be dispatched and tracked using GPS. The costs associated with transportation to scheduled medical appointments can be reduced and billed by efficiently coordinating services based on location and availability through GPS.

Meeting EVV Requirements

Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) is a system that tracks the home care service provider, the patient receiving the services, the services provided and the time and duration of the home health care visit. The technology has evolved to provide more up-to-date information. GPS which can track a home health caregiver’s location while also giving access to digitized records and client data to efficiently track the delivery of services and curtail fraudulent activity.

In recent years there has become a great need for organizing, sharing, tracking and compiling vitally important medical information. Efficiency is the key for agencies in providing the best possible care and for every home health care client. Fortunately, EVV and GPS tracking is already prevalent in mobile apps and have emerged as an important tool for agencies as well as clients and provide EVV requirements for compliance with state and federal regulations.

As well as GPS tracking, there are numerous other benefits. Current Medical Information and medical records access required for EVV compliance can be utilized and viewed through a home health care app by the service provider and the patient. One can access future appointment times, lists of medication and dosage and test results as well as past and current medical treatment plans through the efficiency of a home health care app.

EVV compliance required by Medicare can be tracked through a home health care app. A mobile app can provide statements in real time for services rendered and billing with greater efficiency which can be electronically filed with Medicare and health insurance providers.

Home Health Administrative Benefits

Home health care agencies should utilize a Human Resource Management System (HRMS) with mobile apps that have GPS capabilities. Many costs can be reduced by simply knowing where your caregivers are in real-time. Mileage can be tracked as well as travel time to help reduce costs. Mobile apps with GPS can record and enter information automatically which reduces an administrators time spent with payroll tasks.

Summary of GPS Benefits

Streamlining costs while providing the highest care possible for clients as well as retaining qualified caregivers are the greatest challenges facing home health care agencies.

Through utilization of the latest technologies available such as GPS, agencies are able to maximize client care while simplifying the numerous important management tasks.