What are Homecare Homebase users saying about the software?

Excellent

I love this software...I've used brightree/Matrixcare also in another position and HC/HB is sooo much better! Easy to navigate. All your info is readily available from main screen. Adaptable by admin. Cant praise it enough!

Pros

Ease if use/user friendly. Information readily available and easy to find. Well organized

Cons

Some issues with glitches, like not syncing sometimes. Supply list can be confusing. Confusing to update/change plan of care. Difficulty updating aide care plan (I can change it but it doesnt "stick") but i probably just need to read up on how to do that correctly. So much good about everything else, these are minor.

HCHB Review

Since day one from the trainers to customer support, it has been a positive experience. We feel supported when needed and really appreciate the customer support re structure that is going on at this time.

Pros

HCHB is great in that it puts the workflow to the forefront so it must be addressed. No missing work items or trying to remember if you did a process. It reminds you or actually has hard stops to keep you from moving foward without the required information.

Cons

some of the stops require HCHB to intervene. While I at times understand I think it should be a the agencies discretion. My number one con is the when a patient changes insurance and a new episode must be opened and retro episode information added.

The Ripple Effect

In my opinion, as the biller I saw that this software caused this company to lose a lot of money.

Pros

Having used a handful of different software programs in the healthcare field I found using this particular one taught me to appreciate the others in a big way.

Cons

This software is marketed as a “workflow” driven program that is supposed to seamlessly keep users on top of tasks to insure the ball keeps rolling without interruption. The workflow is from referral stage (accepted or not), to insurance verification (which should be done first), to scheduling start of care visit and so on. Each step has several “workflow” sections that need to be cleared. These workflow items can only be cleared from the “workflow” section of the software. In other words, it cannot be cleared simply by doing the task from other sections of the software or the patients chart. Insurance authorizations are tricky. A SOC visit cannot be scheduled without an authorization being entered, even for Medicare payors which do not require an auth. Authorizations require a "bypass" to be entered first which is only a partial auth allowing a scheduler to only plot a few visits, explained to employees that it forces auths be requested and followed up on so that the remaining visits can be scheduled. However this wasn't the case, as a turnover in employees occurred repeatedly, orders weren’t being approved in a timely manner so new employees were told to add to these bypasses to be able to schedule further visits. If bypass extensions weren’t entered, visits were not scheduled in a timely manner and ordered frequency was not honored and in the end MANY missed visits had to be entered, which happened frequently. Auth requests fell behind as well because orders hadn’t been approved and not all Ins companies allow back dating of auth requests which costed this company dearly. Also the auth workflow has many sections, Enter initial auth bypass, Request initial auth, Follow up on auth request, Enter auth upon approval, all for each patient and each auth..so much reworking on the same subject, a huge time waster and messy. Each workflow item requires coordination note to be entered (more to weed through when searching notes). To explain untimely verbal order approval, they understandably need to be approved as do many other things, usually by the Director of Nursing. As the DON rules many facets of this kind of business, her “workflow” is overwhelming, as is every assigned workflow item with this program, hence the turnover. Every employee has an overwhelming workflow that drives them to seek other employment. I saw 3 DON’s come and go in the few short months I was with this company. This in my opinion is what causes a ripple effect. If only one user in this “workflow” process cannot keep up it will and does cause every step thereafter to be off because the task does not move to the next step until the one before is complete. A couple of other things outside the workflow that cause issues: There is no visit management for looking into if visits were completed or not in the patient chart. Users have to exit the chart to go to the scheduling console that is many clicks and searches to get to. Actual visit notes are found in coordination notes that are mixed with all certification periods for that patient and there is no indication of what kind of visit it is, a follow up or oasis etc. This information is only available in the scheduler. All documents that are scanned into a patients chart are mixed as well with all cert periods so in turn users spend too much time weeding out, another big time waster. Also only one user can be in a patient chart at a time, very odd.

Top billing software but has some downfalls....

Pros

They have been great to add programs to the software so that we can keep everything in house. We have multiple lines of business and in that respect they are very accommodating. We have been with them for years so most of our staff is familiar with the software and how it operates.

Cons

It can become super costly. They charge enormous amounts for each add-on you purchase. Also, customer service has always and still is very slow to respond at times. There are times we will wait 2-3 days for a response to what seems like a simple fix. Also not fond of a lot of the updates they do (which is often) They seem to change the look and feel of the site far too much.

Hospice charting

I hadn’t minimal training in the program but I did have some cheat sheets that really helped me stumble through.

Pros

I like how easy the program is to navigate and chart in. I also really like the workflow set up and idg set up.

Cons

It’s hard to see a full picture of care with the way the pages are set up. In a different program I was able to see all notes per discipline.

Field RN user

Poor so far

Pros

Can sync quickly. That's it. Being able to use small device is kinda of nice .

Cons

From field staff point of view hchb is very poor program. Pathways do not reflect care provided. Waiting around for office staff to change codes, add visits, process work que is extremely slow. Buddy codes are a mess for large organization. We end up with visits on one nurse and buddy codes on another. Makes no sense that buddy codes can be moved separate from a visit.There are repetitive questions in some areas of assessment that are not needed nor appropriate. I spend more time "looking" at my phone during a visit than I do the patient. No ability to self schedule my case load.Writing exceptions all the time as to why i wasn't in home 30 minutes, when I actually was is annoying now. The system we have on scanning documents that MD have written by hand is not legible half the time so make figuring orders a concern. I'd rather go back to epic.

Not The Most Friendly EMR Software

Homecare Homebase gets the job done, however it has a lot of unnecessary clutter that proviers must go through in order to get to the bottom line.

Pros

Homecare Homebase is not the most friendly EMR software I have used while providing home based hospice care. It does try to make things easier, such as providing prepopulated responses you can choose from, tracking your miles from patient to patient and good IDG tools.

Cons

Homecare Homebase could streamline things, espeically for social workers and chaplains as they are extremely nurse focused. Documenting a new patient visit can take a lot of time, especially going through all of the new patient flows.

Not a fan of this inflexible system

This Android based system forces users into the most check-box driven system in the Universe. The pro is that the system makes you jump through the hoops. The con is that the system makes you jump through hoops.

Pros

The system forces you to write your notes every day. Once you get used to it, its nice to stay in the rhythm of documenting when you are with your patients or immediately after. You can't really get behind if you are doing it right. This system keeps clinicians very honest about the actual timing of patient visits. This is another system that CTO's and CFO's geek out about.

Cons

The goals and interventions are rigid and difficult to incorporate into the actual functional activities. If you are in the middle of a visit and need to change the visit type, you have to depend on the office to schedule things for you. When that happens, you often have to document after the fact and the system makes it very difficult to record the time of the actual treatment.

Good for Hospice and Home Health services, easy to use

It works well for me personally, however I would appreciate an app and alerts when I have work to do on it.

Pros

It is quite simple and easy to use for Home Health agencies and Hospices. I approve orders in it and it takes me literally 3 clicks and steps. It took me very little time to learn how to use it. I have heard others have had the same experience. I would imaging training costs are low. Tracking referrals is very easy.

Cons

It does not interface with Epic well which is unfortunate. Epic is the most commonly used software by hospitals and large health system. It is not convenient for nurses who have to chart in both softwares. I wish this software would alert me when orders come to my in-basket to sign. I have to remember to log in every week. Unlike other software such as Epic, they do not have a phone app. Epic app alerts you when you have a message. To compete, HH should create an app, too. At times too many questions have to be answered and repeating information has to be typed in by hand, which wastes time and takes away from time spent with the patient.

Very specific documentation needs

Pros

Amazing ability to look up patients, and map your day. I miss this feature the most when working with my new software. Looking up patients at a touch of a button and not searching really made my evenings and mornings trying to plan for my day and caseload very easy.

Cons

Did not have a lot of ability to choose what you needed in certain sections. Sometimes would have to click an answer that didn't really fit, and then would later have to type a narrative to explain

The second worst documentation system I have ever used.

For a long time I would refuse to work at any company that did not value their patients only their bottom line as proven by their use of this terrible system. I only do now as I am contracted to a company that uses it. HORRIBLE SYSTEM. If I could give it zero stars I would.

Pros

Truthfully there is very little I like about this system. It is bulky, intrusive, poorly designed, non-intuitive, difficult to learn, and difficult to use.

Cons

Point of care documentation is intrusive and changes how I actually treat patients, as I have had to change my therapy sessions to follow the program. Sometimes there is a back button; sometimes a cancel; sometimes an enter. All are in different places on the screen which makes it quite difficult for muscle memory making me look down at the screen for much of the session, causing patient complaints, and interrupting the humanity in a therapy session. It is difficult to find any information from prior visits to determine what actions were taken in a session and follow up as needed.

Honest review of homecarehomebase by nurse who uses every day

Absolutely, unequivocally a resounding NO WAY

Pros

Some realtime info is available however admissions and recertifications not available as realtime until fully reviewed by coders Demographics info available immediately The pros for office staff and billing purposes are readily apparent and this is the major advantage

Cons

This little device sorry,rephrase, this miniature device is totally inadequate to be working with all day and all night Mark my words, you will be working on this little monster for the entire day &night whenever you see patients. It is slowwww, tedious to use due to miniature size and it is laborious as you need to address hundreds of screens to move through this program. It is difficult to retrieve information as it requires backtracking again through screen after screen. The type is extremely small and difficult to use continually all day & night and this is with largest type available. It has made my job easily 12 hrs a day and since I'm salaried no overtime. Basically, my job is nurse during day and data entry every single night . There is lag time with every entry and with every screen change causing delay in my data entry job. Trust me, the nursing staff will be very unhappy with this program. Mgt not sympathetic as they shrug and say "That's the way it is".

Many ways to get the job done.

Pros

On a desktop, the software is easy to use and has many different ways of getting the same task done.

Cons

If on a tablet, it gets hung up and is impossible to resolve until log on with desktop and un-hang yourself.

Great Product!

Our company uses this software all day, every day. We could not provide the high level of care we do without a robust software like HCHB.

Pros

Great all in one software for a growing hospice company. Without this I don't know how we could function as a company, this is great!

Cons

They roll out quite a few updates the system can go down from time to time but if you can be patient and plan for it you'll be fine.

Powerful home care and hospice automation software

Pros

HCHB has a multitude of integrations for supporting our nurses including integrations with patient data, physician office integration, payroll, and others. The scanning features have drastically reduced the administrative hours nurses spend allowing them more quality time with patients.

Cons

HCHB is growing fast and has some of the biggest home health and hospice agencies. Sometimes they seem over stretched, but it usually happens in phases. They are constantly getting better and more reliable with compliance needs.

Review of Bereavement Tracking panel

This software has been essential to keeping track of when to contact family members and other loved ones.

Pros

I like that the software keeps track of when to send letters and the one to make phone calls

Cons

What using the calendar function to plot phone calls it would be nice if the calendar showed national and religious holidays to prevent scheduling on those days.

You've got options.

You've got options. Explore them before settling on Homecare Homebase.

Pros

I used this software daily for a number of months and, after being with another company offering a superior Home Health Care software, I understand why my colleagues were all frustrated with it. The only pro about this software is the customer service staff, who did what they could to help me when I needed them.

Cons

The interface is extremely outdated and not remotely user-friendly. I felt as though I was using a program made in the late 90's. And the so-called Phone App, which was was still relatively new when I was utilizing the software, crashed often and was never easy to use when it worked. Customer service, however, was fantastic in my experience. They seemed to understand the frustrations of their software and tried their best to ease the burden. I hope to never use this software again.

homecare homebase

Pros

can be used on a tablet, accepts electronic signatures and is date driven

Cons

too many clicks to enter data that is non-essential

Benefits of Homecare Homebase

easily used on tablets

Pros

Intuitive, less time consuming, ability to compare answers to OASIS questions prior to finalizing discharge from services. Up to date with regulatory changes

Cons

agency has to pay for better utilization of various tools, otherwise can't think of anything negative.

Data Drive System

Pros

Good product to help track visit time, documentation and travel. End user able to document at home where care provided.

Cons

Dependent on back office staff to "push" workflow, so clinicians have access to patient information and visit documentation

Leaves a Lot to be Desired

This software is not user-friendly and not intuitive. User still has to use some form of spreadsheet tracking to make sure they don’t miss anything. I have seen much much better software than this. This review does not even mention to broken link between HCHB and PointCare (the tablet version for field clinicians).

Pros

Ability to run a deaths report in real time for any clinical team. Ability to print mailing labels on the dot.

Cons

Bereavement letters can’t be filtered for only those with addresses. Risk assessments overwrites care plans leaving the user to have to rewrite the care plan instead of just revising it. Workflow console and alerts are not linked. Too many clicks needed to schedule a visit. There are several places to schedule visits and you can lose visits if they are not assigned to a clinician.

Hard to document, hard to read.

I’m a Rehab clinician and adoption of this software has negatively influence my patient care. The data collected is repetitive, incomplete, time consuming and uniformative. The only “help” available is by phone and inconveniently available. There is no online help file, FAQ or discussion forum. Many of the reviews of this software are unavailable, perhaps due to reputation management. The only online reviews, on allnurses.com, are overwhelmingly negative. Back office assignment and management using this software has been chaotic and frankly necglectful. This software has prompted an incompetent and irresponsible relationship to patients.

Pros

Nothing. I use 3 O.S. s in my job. I don’t find Android friendly, I don’t experience th Software as usable.

Cons

Not designed for keyboard entry. Speech to text requires persistent editing. Clinically deficient. Difficult to read. All in caps. Pretends to A.I. but poorly thought out and inconsistent. Redundant, uninformative, time consuming and negligent. Low usability.

Hospice amy

It has been very helpful keeping g my visits and orders scheduled and timely. I can find all patient information quickly from other client providers within our hospice team.

Pros

I can quickly and easily find clients demographic information, medical information, orders, plans, billing, etc

Cons

There are many options and paths you can take so you have to take some time familiarizing yourself with the product in order to navigate quickly.

Great Homehealth software

Pros

Homecare Homebase allows all of your field clinicians a digital process to enter time worked and patient notes instead of shuffling paperwork back and forth to the office.

Cons

Training for this software could be streamlined more.

Not Clinically Practical or User Friendly

It does not produce a clinically functional note to communicate what is actually happening with the patient. It takes a lot of effort to get into and out of notes. You cannot have more than one window open at a time, so you cannot review patient information while trying to write clinical or CTI notes. It goes down often.

Pros

Web based

Cons

Information not easily accessible or clinically practical System goes down and they are not responsive