Policies, Procedures, & More

Brightside Homecare strives to provide its consumers with the best possible care and to provide our caregivers with a great career in care.

The Brightside Home Care Policy is a commitment we ask of all our personnel, to uphold our core values in their day to day. At Brightside Home Care, we truly are changing lives, saving lives and making a difference in the lives of those we serve.

 Core Values:
 

· Reliable- To be a dependable home care service you can count on. 

· Professional- To deliver service excellence and professionalism at all times.

· Compassionate- To show understanding, empathy and passionate when caring for others.

· Quality- To provide consistent top-notch care based on up-to-date quality standards.

· Safety- To foster an environment that is safe and secure for everyone.

Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) is a system for electronically capturing and verifying key information about health care services that are rendered in the home and paid for by Medicaid.  EVV is required by the 21st Century Cures Act, to prevent fraud, waste and abuse; and to ensure that patients receive their services. EVV systems record the type of service performed, the hours, the location, the provider, and the patient.  Brightside Home Care requires all caregivers, (and/or persons hired to provide care to its consumers), to comply with E.V.V. state, county laws, which includes proper use of E.V.V.  systems in place that verify when services occur, and documents precise begin and end times of services, as outlined per client’s individualized service/care plans. Any failures to comply with this policy may result in disciplinary actions and or employee termination.  What does this mean for the Caregiver…?  This means that caregivers are required and expected to clock-in and out, onsite, for their shifts using the E.V.V. system as regulated by the state. If a caregiver forgets to electronically clock in or out, the caregiver must notify administration immediately to be manually enter into the system. Consistent failure to comply with E.V.V. compliance policies will result in coaching, mandatory trainings and disciplinary action/termination.  What if I have issues access to the E.V.V. System…?  In cases where E.V.V. service connectivity is limited or unavailable the caregiver should notify administration immediately to receive instruction. If the issue is a long term concern the administration team will provide support for adequate use of the E.V.V. system.  How will Brightside Home Care Administration Team Support you in compliance…?  As a courtesy Brightside will send text and conduct phone call reminders to caregivers regarding clock in and out onsite using the E.V.V. system.  Administration has developed a support plan to address potential challenges related to meeting EVV compliance. You can reach out to administration to discuss resources put in place to support your EVV Compliance.  Lastly, a letter will be sent to your client as well explaining the importance of your clock-in and out using the E.V.V. system.    

Step 1: Caregivers upon arrival of participants care location will be required to first clock into the (HHA Exchange) EVV system.  Brightside uses the HHA Exchange (Home Health Aids Exchange) Mobil app system. During the onboarding process Brightside administration will ensure the caregiver downloads the app to their phone, and provide training on how to use the app.  During new-hire orientation Caregivers are registered into the Mobile app utilizing specific personal information (ex: full name, DOB,), and unique characters provided to them by Brightside administration. This registration process connects the caregiver’s mobile app to Brightside’s admin dashboard, powered by the HHA exchange system.  Thru the app caregivers are provided with information related to the intended participant, about Brightside Home Care, and access to a number of features, (which includes a clock in/out feature).  If a Caregiver is taking a lunch the app provides a lunch clock out/in option. Caregivers will also learn about this future during new-hire orientation. This feature can also be used for any authorized needs to temporarily clock out and back-in.  When the caregiver has ended their lunch period or authorized break, they can clock in utilizing the lunch clock in feature. Caregivers must clock in/out for lunch on location, as the HHA system is programed to only permit clocking in/out from the participants location.  Step 2: Upon completion of a Caregivers shift they will need to clock out at the participants location. Caregivers should clock out on time to prevent miss-use of the participants units.  Caregivers should log into their HHA Mobile app and click the Clock out button (or end shift feature) in their mobile app. What if a caregiver forgets to clock in/out or is having issues accessing the EVV System…?  In cases where caregivers forget to clock in/out, or the E.V.V. system connectivity is limited, and/or unavailable the caregiver should notify Brightside administration immediately to receive instructions on manual clock in/out processes. If the issue is a long term concern the administration team will provide alternative support thru the HHA Exchange system (ex: beacon use, fob clock in/out devices, etc.), for compliant use of the E.V.V. system.  In the event where caregivers need to utilize a timesheet for manually clocking in/out. Brightside administrative team and caregivers should follow the following process: 1) Caregivers are required to notify administration (immediately), if they will need to use and submit a (hard copy) timesheet for manual input. Timesheets are provided by the admin office (in soft and hard copies).  -Timesheets cover weekly schedule periods. Caregivers should complete timesheets daily and then submit completed timesheet at end of the week directly to office (by email or text). -Timesheets must be done correctly, legibly and turned in on-time to be verified and processed to prevent any payment delays. 2) Brightside Home Care administration will always verify timesheets at end of week, by first contacting the caregiver regarding the days worked, then verifying with the participant. In addition, Brightside admin will call randomly, (and/or show-up onsite)  during scheduled times for support, and verification that caregiver is: -On the site -On Time Guidelines for Editing Electronically Capture Services -Caregivers are unable to make edits to electronic submissions thru their HHA Exchange mobile  apps; (as the app prohibits caregiver’s capability to alter time submissions to ensure integrity of  hours).  -Brightside’s administrative team will do not alter electronic clock in/out submissions unless with exception to:   The caregiver forgets too clock in/or, in this case admin will contact all parties (caregiver & participant) for verification of attendance/timeframe of services rendered. A coaching will be done to ensure this is a non-repetitive issue.     An emergency occurred that prevented an appropriate clock in/out submission. In this case the admin team will contact all parties (caregiver & participant) for verification of attendance/timeframe of services rendered. Brightside administration will only make edits to electronic time submissions, (and/or other electronic data i.e. notes, Docu edits, etc.), with approval from a Brightside Director/Executive.   Brightside administration will contact the caregiver directly and make necessary (approved edits) in the case of missing or incorrect electronic submissions.   

Our Agency will ensure that all members of its workforce will comply with the security policies of the organization as well as state and federal regulations PHI as per HIPAA guidelines, by applying sanction and disciplinary actions appropriate for the breach of policy. The policy applies to all agency staff including, full time employees, trainees, volunteers' contractors, temporary workers. Brightside Homecare Staff will receive training both at on hire orientation, and yearly as changes occur, regarding the HIPAA guidelines for PHI, for Brightside Homecare LLC. consumers. Ou agency will appropriately discipline employees and other workforce members for any violations of security policy and procedures, to a degree appropriate for the gravity of the violation. 

These sanctions include but are not limited to re-training, verbal & written warnings, and immediate dismissal from employment. In addition, workforce members who knowing and willfully violate state and federal law for improper use or disclosure of a consumer's PHI are subject to criminal investigation, prosecution or civil monetary penalties.

Brightside Admin will ensure that:

Record of all disciplinary actions taken are within the employment records of the employee.

Investigate thoroughly any security incidents of violations and mitigate to the extent possible, any negative effects that the incident may have had in a timely manner.

We will never intimidate or retaliate against any workforce member or individual that reports the incident.

 All individuals identified in the scope of this policy are responsible for compliance with any sanction that is applied to them under this policy. Our agency's Privacy Officer is responsible for reviewing reported security incidents and violations of security policy and levying, based on the gravity of the breach, and appropriate sanctions upon the workforce member.

Failure to comply with this or any other security policy will result in disciplinary actions as per the sanction policy. legal actions may also be taken regarding violations of applicable regulations and laws such as HIPAA.

The sanction policy is a required implementation specification defined with the security management process standard (164.308 (a) (1)) in the administrative safeguards category of the HIPAA Security Rule.      

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