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(Dallas, TX) – Homecare Homebase, L.P. today announced the rollout of a system wide upgrade to the Therapy portion of the Homecare Homebase PointCare solution. The upgrade brings substantial enhancements to the functionality within the musculoskeletal and functional categories including simplification of data entry, a true snapshot of patient status, easy access to historical therapy data, graphical tracking of episodic goals and the flexibility to incorporate new therapeutic tests as needed.

Traditionally, automated software solutions for the home health industry were nurse- centered, reflecting the industry’s focus on nursing services for at-home patients. As home health has evolved, the breadth of patient care delivered has grown as well. Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy have experienced rapid growth and become an increasingly important aspect of in-home care. Homecare Homebase, recognizing this trend, began working with the therapy staff of various customers to gain insight into the unique needs of the therapist in a home health environment. “As therapy needs have grown in home care, they have also exposed the need for therapy-centric functionality in software,” said Celeste Cummings, Product Manager at Homecare Homebase. “We went to the source to understand a day-in-the-life of a therapist and how the software could be enhanced to better meet their needs in the home.”

Using the feedback from therapists in the field, the Homecare Homebase development team began to design an upgrade to the PointCare Manager, the field automation portion of the software. The enhancements made have increased the usability of the program, and incorporates a more intuitive therapy structure. The system now features an interface that makes entering patient information easier and faster, allowing the therapist to focus on patient care.

A truly innovative element of the upgrade is graphical tracking of episodic goal progress. Colorful, easy to understand graphs quickly show the current status of the individual patient as they move towards their therapy goals. The complete history can be viewed in only a few seconds, giving the therapist the tools to quickly and easilydetermine the therapy plans for the patient.  “Finally, someone got it right. With Homecare Homebase we are considerably more efficient during our visits, and we have the tools to quickly make decisions about the patient’s treatment plan and progress. With an increasing emphasis on evidence based outcomes, these new tools will allow therapists to make the right decision for their patients and easily communicate those decisions to all the caregivers involved in the patient’s care plan” said Jonathan Talbot, Physical Therapist & Director of Therapy Services at Encompass Home Health, Longview, Texas.

With this upgrade Homecare Homebase now offers one of the most complete, easy to use therapy modules in the industry. “Focusing on our method of developing our software with the actual users has once again proven to be the right idea. This newly enhanced therapy module is truly made for therapists, by therapists,” said Mike Smolinski, Director of Mobile Systems Development for Homecare Homebase. “We have been able to work hand-in-hand with the therapy teams to marry their needs with the technology to bring them the most efficient and effective PointCare tool available.”

The upgraded Therapy module of Homecare Homebase offers today’s home health agency more than just an operations tool, it makes the therapist’s job easier, simpler and ultimately more enjoyable. “Finding effective ways to improve the workload and processes for our therapists is key. It is a challenging segment of the home health industry, with a high level of demand and employee turnover. To be able to offer a tool that enables our therapy teams to not only do their job better, but give them more quality time with their patients and a better picture of the patient’s overall care, is critical. We have seen positive feedback across the board on the new enhancements,” said Jonathan Talbot.

For more information or to schedule a demonstration of the Homecare Homebase agency automation solution, please contact Tricia Collom, Senior Vice President of Marketing at tcollom@hchb.com.

About Homecare Homebase, LP.
Homecare Homebase (HCHB) is a privately held software development company headquartered in Dallas, TX. Founded in 1999 by industry veterans, HCHB offers a comprehensive integrated web-based software solution to improve the clinical, operational and financial success of homecare and hospice agencies. HCHB enables real-time, wireless information exchange and communication between office staff, field staff and physicians; automates workflow processes; enables accurate billing through numerous integrated checks and balances; and, provides powerful management reporting via a back-office data analysis tool that ties together all agency operational information. Every aspect of the HCHB system was developed to be user-friendly, flexible and customizable to specific agency needs. For more information, visit our web site at www.hchb.com or contact us toll free at 1-866-535-HCHB (4242).