caseTRACK's Other Identification Feature

caseTRACK's "Other Identification" feature allows a user to record additional information about a client such as Driver's License #, Pseudo-SSNs, etc. Adding this additional information can be helpful when you are viewing a client's electronic file, but it can also serve 2 other important functions.

Cross-System Reporting

If your client is a part of several programs and each program has it's own assigned "Client ID" or "Case ID", the "Other Identification section can be used to record this other ID. Once the ID is recorded it allows us to run cross-system reports to verify accuracy and maximize on the data stored both locally and in other systems. When we can pull in additional data elements from other systems we are required to use, by contract, we eliminate the need to duplicate data entry and provide a more comprehensive view of our clients.

Grouping Clients as a "Case"

Many times we serve more than one client in a family. In these cases we may assign a "Family ID" for the whole group. In caseTRACK, each client is created in the system. So how do you group these multiple clients into one "case"?

Each program can create a distinct ID to group clients together as a unit. For each client, create an identical "Other ID" in the same format and at that point they are linked. We can report on distinct "cases" and you can easily navigate between clients involved in the case by clicking on the respective ID.

Transfer Clients

Recently a user called and said, "One of my workers got reassigned and I need to transfer all of her clients to someone else. Do I have to do this one at a time?"

If you are a supervisor you should now be able to do this using the "Transfer Clients" feature in caseTRACK.

If you have permissions you should see this option on caseTRACK's main menu. Click it and you will see the Transfer Clients form.

Select the worker you are transferring from and then fill ou the rest of the form. Check the clients you wish to transfer and then click 'Transfer'.

Using the "Transfer Date", this feature ends the "Transfer From" worker assignment for all the selected clients and adds a new worker assignment record for the "Transfer To" worker.

Hopefully, this will save a lot of time for you going forward.

Functional Assessment Rating Scale Feature

If you have been using caseTRACK for a while, you are familiar with the way the Children's Functional Assessment Rating Scale (CFARS) works inside the system. Now you have the ability to record the adult version (FARS) in caseTRACK in the same way.

Add your FARS Rater Id

In order to complete a FARS you should have completed the FARS Certification and have a FARS Rater Id assigned to you. In caseTRACK, click 'My Info' and update your Rater Id.

Add a FARS

You may have already noticed this new feature below the Outcomes and right above the Summaries sections.

If you have permissions to Add FARS you will see that link when you expand the FARS section. The FARS form looks almost indentical to the CFARS form.

Fill out the required fields and 'Save' the form. If you have filled in all required fields you will receive a confirmation page with a link to print the FARS form or to continue working with the your client.

Remember, if you can bill for the limited assessment, you will want to record the service in the progress note section.

New Medicaid Billing Reports

We wanted to give you a quick update on a couple of new reports we just added. But first let's to review our progress on the electronic data interchange of billable services from caseTRACK to MTS, our Medicaid billing system and now our General Ledger.

For service dates February, 2009 forward, you should be submitting your Medicaid and Medicaid HMO services electronically to billing.

Once you review and submit the services to billing the services go through another set of validations. If your submitted services do not pass these additional validations, they will sit in an 'Edit' status until the services is corrected.

After corrections are made in caseTRACK those corrections flow to MTS. The services go through validations again. If the service(s) pass the validations, it will be billed.

On the 10th of each month, revenue posts to the General Ledger. The services in MTS that have passed the edit phase and are waiting to bill or have already been billed in the previous month will post as revenue to the subaccount (Program) selected at the time of service entry.

The New Reports

In order to show the details of the revenue posted for a particular month we created 2 new reports.

• My Agency's Services Billed

-and-

• My Division's Services Billed

Depending on your caseTRACK role you may only see one of these reports. The only difference in these 2 reports is whether or not you get to pick a Division or you are limited to your Division only.

The Parameters

The "My Agency's..." version of the report requires the user to select a Division first.

There are 3 parameters included on each of the reports.

• Group By - You can choose to group by Client, Worker, Program, Subaccount, Funding Source, Service Date. If you select a grouping, the report will display a summary of the services by the grouping selected. The report will also sort by the grouping selected.
• Start Date and End Date - The report will return all services with service dates between the start and end date selected.

The Details

These reports display a listing of services billed. The data that appears on the report is the worker who performed the service, client, service date, service code, service amount, funding source, subaccount and status. Each column can be sorted within the report itself, but users can export this report to Excel for additional sorting or filtering.

Creating a caseTRACK "Cheatsheet"

The Dilema

Different programs use caseTRACK in a variety of different ways. In one program, specifying a valid Medicaid billable mental health diagnosis is high on the priority list. For other programs not providing Medicaid billable services this is not important.

Some programs are split into several different "components" in caseTRACK and other programs are contained in themselves.

Most programs have a need to count each family member involved a "case", but others may only need to account for one person in a family.

A program may cross regions and another might be specific to a single region.

All these issues require carefull consideration when implementing and maintaining your program's data in caseTRACK.

The Suggestion

Most programs have procedures and documentation for day to day operations. But how many have similar documentation for the program's data requirements? In my experience...very few.

If you would like to put together a program specific "cheatsheet", here is a suggestion on how to start.

• Think in terms a brand new employee. Just as you might provide a new employee with your Operations Procedures or a user guide for caseTRACK a cheatsheet that puts 2 and 2 together can help tremendously.
  
• Describe your Program. As mentioned above, some programs are split into multiple “components” inside caseTRACK. If this is the case, list and describe the program components.
  
• Address Admissions and Discharges. Some programs receive a bunch of referrals with only a fraction of those referrals becoming clients. Describing when a client becomes a client and when they are discharged will help with the consistency of your data.
  
• Specify what portions of caseTRACK are top priority. caseTRACK contains many different features that could be overwhelming for a user. Highlight those features and functions most critical to your program. What referral sources are used? What funders pay for the program? What services do they pay for? What are the critical tasks and requirements for your program ? Do you need to use 'Other Identification' to group clients together as a unit? What reports are need to be used and how are they used?
  
• Keep it simple. Try to limit your cheatsheet to 1 or 2 pages. Refer to your Operations Procedures or the caseTRACK user manual for more detailed information.

Puting together a quick reference guide for users in your department will hopefully help to ensure consistent and valid data entry. Along the way it may also help you identify some additional needs your program may have that can be resolved inside caseTRACK.

Let me know if you have any other suggestions or would like some help putting together your caseTRACK "cheatsheet".

Reports Spotlight: Total Billable Units

There are several reports in caseTRACK designed to help a manager quickly review the productivity of their workers. The "Total Billable Services by Worker" and "Total Billable Services by Funding Source" are two of these reports.

Report Descriptions

The "Total Billable Services by Worker" report allows managers to view a summary of the billable services recorded by workers based on a specific division and date range. The report is grouped by Supervisor and Service Code and the total billable units are summarized.

The "Total Billable Services by Funding Source" report also allows managers to view a summary of the billable services recorded by the workers based on a specific division and date range. The report is grouped by Location and Service Code and the total billable units are summarized.

In order to view these reports you must be in one of these caseTRACK roles:

• Compliance
• Executive Director
• Program Director

The reports an be found by clicking on Reports > Productivity and then click on the respective report.

Report Use

If weekly or monthly targets have been established for your workers, these reports can serve as a quick reference to see if your workers are hitting those billing targets for those specified time frames.

While it is not an exact science as some workers may have been sick or on vacation these reports can show you at a glance the productivity of your workers.

Using QuickLinks For More Efficient Data Entry

The ‘My QuickLinks’ feature was created to make for more efficient navigation throughout caseTRACK.

With QuickLinks, you can:

• Customize your caseTRACK client page so that the details you add most frequently appear at the top of the page.


• Order your commonly used links in an order that makes sense to you.


• And add details without scrolling down the page to find the ‘Add CFARS’ or ‘Add Progress Note’ links.

To set up ‘My Quicklinks’

1. Open a client's record.
2. Find My QuickLinks above the View Demographic Form link, on the left side of the screen.
3. Click Edit.

4. Click Add QuickLinks.

5. At Link select, the QuickLink you would like to add.

Note: The links you can see are limited to the functions you have permissions to.

6. Use the Sort Position select to set the position that you want your section to appear.

For example: if you use Progress Notes regularly, make this selection number 0 or 1. If you set all your sort positions to the same number, the QuickLinks will appear in alphabetical order.

7. Click the 'Save' button.

8. Now you can click on Add QuickLinks to add more links or click Done if you are finished adding your QuickLinks.