Despite the tremendous advances in medicine and medical care technologies, adaptation of artificial intelligence or adaptive algorithms at the operational, administrative and care services level have been disproportionally slow, particularly in the senior care and end-of-life services sectors. After 4 years of operations and research, we’re building new systems that manage and automate care management and processes. These tools drastically reduce administration burdens, staff reliance, help increase margins and efficiencies, and allow the company to continue operating without disruption if unforeseen issues arise. Hospice staffing is a perfect example especially after COVID restrictions thinned out the nursing labor force. With intelligence systems in place, the company can replace staff quickly with little to no business disruption because rather than relying on individuals to create care plans and set visit frequencies – our Predictive Patient Care Solutions (PPCS) use historical data to create the best total care plan, with far better comprehension and accuracy. In essence, the company’s care services are driven by the technology, not nursing staff, which allows us to drop new hires into their perspective roles with immediate affect.
The 2 biggest challenges for traditional Hospices are: 1) Staffing & 2) Care planning – with emphasis on nursing visit frequencies. Visit frequency is the #1 area Hospices fail to control their margins.
Our PPCS platform compares historical patient data to a new patient’s diagnosis, overall health, comorbidities and level of acuity to develop the nursing team’s care plan and suggested visit frequency. Each time there is an adjustment to an individual’s care plan during the Hospice’s bimonthly Inter-disciplinary Group (IDG)) meetings throughout the course of treatment, the data is recorded in PPCS and becomes part of the adaptive algorithm for future care. Having this functionality as a Software Service enhances care outcomes while removing the reliance on nursing staff. Eliminating reliance on staff, particularly in an increasingly challenging labor market, provides the company with the flexibility and power to make staff changes without disrupting operations.
Hospice is extremely competitive and equally overly regulated, and the level of care is very involved, making it a difficult business to manage for some. These challenges along with the cost saving advantages for Medicare is why Hospice reimbursement rates are higher than other senior care services sectors. In contrast, the Mobile Physician business is extremely fragmented making it easier to capture significant market share and is scarcely regulated. In essence, the Mobile Physician business can almost run-on autopilot. However, reimbursement rates are a fraction of Hospice.
The 3 biggest challenges for traditional mobile doctor businesses are: 1) intelligent scheduling (grouping visits to cut down one travel time), 2) adapting to frequent patient schedule changes, & 3) maximizing visit reimbursement rates. The PPCS platform addresses every aspect of these challenges. Our medical staff simply starts their day by signing into their digital device and follows the navigation and prompts throughout their day. Medical professionals are only human, and it is difficult for them to remember all the services they are allowed to bill for at each visit, not to mention remembering all the related billing codes, particularly when some care services can only be billed monthly, quarterly or annually etc. It is also difficult for doctors to remember which patient diagnosis or comorbidities can lead to additional health issues and additional care service charges for higher reimbursement rates. The PPCS platform removes that burden and simplifies the process so the practitioner can focus on what they do best – focus on the evaluation – which dramatically improves patient outcomes.
Our online scheduling app makes new patient registration and scheduling simpler than simple, even for the technically challenged. Simply visit the site, step through the 3-click process and complete registration and schedule your first visit in less than 5 minutes. Because we maintain an ample doctor to patient ratio, visits can be scheduled within 24 hours, and in some cases, the same day for more urgent matters.
While most EHR/EMR systems provide adjunct functionality like scheduling and documentation, they fall short of providing intelligent learning solutions that enhance visit outcomes which lead to higher patient satisfaction and increased billing reimbursement rates. Legendary’s PPCS platform was designed to deliver on just that – higher patient satisfaction rates and visit reimbursements.
Note: the Infograph below is an over simplification of the PPCS platform. The graph is purely intended to provide a rudimentary illustration of the platform’s ease-of-use for Legendary’s mobile medical staff.