TripSpark Medical Transportation Software

We must keep things as equitable as possible in NEMT. There are so many socioeconomic factors that contribute to how individuals’ access to healthcare may or may not be limited, and it’s our responsibility to stay aware of these limitations so we can do our best to circumvent them. These kinds of concerns are why we were happy the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has widened the scope of Section 1557 of the ACA after being narrowed by a previous administration. According to the HHS, this measure further supports and "prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability in certain health programs and activities." While we suggest  taking a closer look  for yourself, as this is an important rule for NEMT transportation brokers and all other professionals in the industry, here are some of the key takeaways. This revised measure: Extends the scope of Section 1557 to include HHS programs and activities. Enforces requir...

It takes a lot to keep any PACE program operating at peak performance. It's more than just important to meet those standards, it's essential to keeping your participants and their families feeling like they're in the right place. How you operate throughout your day is key, so healthcare professionals who understand your program and your participants are integral in delivering excellence. That's not the only important consideration. If a day doesn't start and end the right way, it can mean your participants can be soured on their experience with you. How your participants go to and from your location is essential in this experience, so you want to make sure your scheduling is both efficient and timely. The right scheduler can help, but there are ways to better support them with NEMT vehicle scheduling technology that handles the essentials. How to Leverage NEMT Dispatch and Billing Software Automate Scheduling to Handle All Your Essential Considerations Not needing t...

We know that  there are governmental measures in place  that will increase the demand for our industry, but is that the only reason we’ll see a rise in NEMT? Most certainly not. According to  a global market report on NEMT , our industry is due "to grow from US$ 8,658.87 million in 2021 to US$ 15,579.98 million by 2028." That means that in the next few years we will see our industry nearly double. According to that same report, two factors were identified as contributing elements: An increase in the occurrence of chronic disease An aging population that continues to have a higher proportion of elderly Both of these factors will mean certain similar elements can be put in place to meet the needs of these demographics. This could include such things as: Increasing the number of wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Increasing training measures to understand how to best serve those with differences in physical ability and approach their needs with sensitivity. Offering more ...

When you have so many moving parts to your business, it can be difficult to get a handle on where you can find more money. It's important to look for opportunities for efficiency, but it's also crucial to spend time on what an NEMT broker does best: coordinating timely medical transportation. Without the right tools, it can be tricky to balance these two aspects of your business. In our experience with clients, we've seen many opportunities for cost-efficiency we'd like to share: 1. Use Your NEMT Software to Generate Reliable, Meaningful Reports This can range anywhere from the average duration of a trip, to mileage, to the number of people per trip, and more. Reporting within our framework is highly customizable. You know what you need to run your brokerage successfully, so it's crucial that you get to set what information you collect.  We've even recently seen how one of our clients was able to use TripSpark's reporting functionality to help lower their in...

As we've explored  in previous blogs , our industry's newfound focus on value-based care and studies looking into the needs of those who use our services have made it clear that the more involved NEMT transportation providers are with those they serve, the better off everyone is. One type of organization stands out to us as being uniquely positioned for this approach to NEMT: Managed Care Organizations (MCOs). How MCOs Can Make an Impact By the nature of what they are, MCOs have a kind of edge when it comes to our industry. MCOs already hold a great deal of medical information about the members who need to book trips. But let’s go deeper into why MCO-managed NEMT can work so well. These organizations have more knowledge of when members are using services and why Their wealth of information about their members helps them easily identify who has more or less need for assistance with transportation, potentially saving both sides of the equation quite a bit of time by bypassing c...

Recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) met to hold a few “listening sessions” in hopes of gathering key information on what steps various kinds of medical transportation management professionals can take to improve their services. We found that  each point  had a lot of potential for growth for our industry: 1: Even though strides have been made, NEMT brokers and other professionals need to take further measures to protect against fraud, waste, and abuse of the system to be sure that anyone who needs NEMT can get it. Looking for ways to increase security protocols is one direction to go in this situation, but the question is: "how do you know what to look out for?" Thankfully, the answer lies in the spirit of what CMS did with their listening sessions: providing a robust means for feedback. This is done best with a two-fold approach. The first way to tackle it is to ensure that your medical transportation management business has a user-friendly a...

We work in an industry that does best when it’s consistently looking ahead for ways to innovate, share knowledge, and bring members the best experience possible. This is doubly true as value-based care becomes the industry standard. While it’s good to look for ways to lead and stand out, working together can bring even greater strides for those who matter most: the people who need what our clients have to offer. This is especially true when trying to find the best ways to remove various obstacles to people getting the proper care when they need it. How TripSpark is looking to move forward Our commitment to always creating a better experience for both our clients and their members is why we are so excited to announce that TripSpark’s NEMT business will be partnering with  Uber Health . This partnership gives TripSpark clients access to Uber Health’s API integration by way of NovusMED. The integration enables clients on behalf of their members to request rides with Uber, allowing for...

Transportation is such a critical social determinant of health. Without it, for many there simply is no participation in key checkups and treatment appointments. It’s also a factor in a person’s levels of socialization and their access to the nutrition they need to stay healthy. NEMT can help with this, but there’s so much more that goes into what constitutes a person’s transportation ability, such as: Functional ability Issues with behavioral health Financial needs of a vehicle (gas, insurance, buying a vehicle, etc.) Cognitive ability Limits on transportation are especially a concern in rural communities where there is less access to public transport—if there’s any at all.  According to MDPI , over 20% of Americans live in rural areas, which also have a higher proportion of older adults with chronic conditions. We can’t leave behind a fifth of our community because they’re further out than the rest of us. NEMT services and NEMT provider technology can help bridge the gap in ...

It’s no secret that brokers have a lot on their plate at any given time. There are so many moving parts for your team members to keep track. There’s a lot that goes into ensuring that your members get the best experience you have to offer. That’s why it’s always crucial to use whatever tools you have at your disposal to work to the best of your ability. One of the biggest assets out there available is NEMT software for brokers. While this is often highly customizable, there are some serious quick wins that brokers can take advantage of relatively quickly when implementing their software. Easy Automation There are various ways you can automate processes in your brokerage, but one of the biggest ways NEMT broker software can help out you and your staff is by automating your scheduling process. Depending on what parameters you set up in your software, it can auto-generate schedules for your drivers that both keep in mind the needs of all your members and also best utilizes your time. Putt...

Non-emergency medical transportation was once a small portion of healthcare. Just a kind of courtesy service for those who "really" needed it. But as demand for healthcare of all kinds continues to increase, and as medical professionals look at their field with a socially-critical eye, NEMT is revealing itself as an integral part of healthcare. Issues at Hand That NEMT Brokers and Other Professionals Are Poised to Address First and foremost, non-emergency medical transportation near you, and all over the country, can address both the needs of the "transportation disadvantaged" and help with "access to healthcare". Both issues are  typically tied directly to lower socioeconomic status , making transportation a major social determinant of health. The terms used above also go a lot deeper than what their names suggest: "Transportation disadvantaged" isn't just about having a car or access to one. It is also determined by how much money someone ...

Your brokerage is only as successful as the quality of service it delivers to its members. Striking a balance between providing positive customer experiences on the ride reservation and ride delivery processes can result in mixed reviews. Read on to find solutions to some common issues identified by members using NEMT services. On-Time Issues In  an article from Medpage Today , members reported that drivers would arrive early, late, or would simply not show up. While this issue isn’t unknown to brokerages, it’s a serious problem that can lead to sanctions when left unchecked. Missed trips could happen due to wrong hires in dispatch, scheduling, or transport, or it could be a matter of not having the right tools for your staff. While hiring is a trickier thing to fix, the tools can be relatively simple. You can find effective NEMT solutions that can help solve a lot of these types of issues. Certain kinds of software can  automate large portions of your scheduling n...

With the right NEMT software on their side, MCOs will benefit from automated solutions for operational efficiency. Reliable NEMT solutions can simplify electronic data transmission without manual effort from encounter data to scheduling information and driver credentials. On top of the benefits for MCOs, members and drivers will also benefit through features such as automatic notifications that keep both parties informed. Here are three ways that a non-emergency medical transportation application will automate electronic data transmission processes for an MCO. Manage Claims and Encounter Data Submission Superior  claims management  provides MCOs with an efficient, customized workflow to manage the claims submission and reimbursement process of their non-emergency medical transportation services. Thanks to automated electronic data capture, TripSpark makes claims and encounter reporting both timely and accurate. MCOs can expedite claims faster and simpler with automated electro...

TripSpark's all-encompassing NEMT and health transportation software, NovusMED is equipped with Claims Management — a platform that simplifies the  claim submission  process. Claims Management includes interfaces specific to Medicaid eligibility and claims data, making it easy to authenticate client admissibility. In this post, we'll briefly define Medicaid, explain medical claims and billing, and explore some key features of TripSpark's non-emergency medical transportation software. Medicaid — A Definition "Medicaid provides health coverage to millions of Americans, including eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults and people with disabilities. Medicaid is administered by states, according to federal requirements. The program is funded jointly by states and the federal government." 1            A Quick Review: Medicare vs. Medicaid – similar, but not the same:   Medicare Medicaid Operat...

Reliable software is the pillar of NEMT broker technology. Customizable and fully integrated systems allow you, as a broker, to get the most out of your software. These are not features that are "nice to have", but aspects you should expect the software to provide for you to use to run your business. Here are five ways you can get more out of your medical broker software. 1. Flexibility Your business is unique. Labels that work for some businesses might not be accurate for yours. That's why the ability to customize your software is so important. With TripSpark's NEMT software, you have the ability to customize search fields, report fields, and more. This allows for improved quality of information, as some fields can be marked as mandatory, ensuring you are never missing important data. Or you can create your own, user-defined fields to further customize how your software operates for you. 2. Setting Up Reports to Run Automatically Regular reports are an important part...

What is Non-Emergency Medical Transportation? Non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) was first offered as a benefit in the 1966 US Medicaid program. The federal and state  governments cover rides for eligible individuals  to and from doctor’s offices, hospitals and other medical facilities for Medicaid-approved care. Originally the benefit was for low-income beneficiaries who didn’t have a reliable, low-cost method of transportation to health care appointments, had long travel times in rural areas, lacked public transit options, or had disabilities. Today, states have different rules about who is eligible to receive rides, what rides are covered and if trips need to be pre-approved. The  most common health care services that people access using NEMT  are behavioral health services, dialysis, preventive services, specialist visits, physical therapy, and adult daycare. Some estimates say that about  80 percent  of the Medicaid population can travel indep...

It’s important to offer NEMT clients transportation that is timely, comfortable and convenient.  NEMT  is your clients’ link to health care, and as such, better service can mean fewer missed appointments and better healthcare outcomes. The key to providing better service is to improve the flow of information between you, your providers and their drivers. That’s why we introduced  Provider Mobile , a smartphone app that enables the real-time exchange of data between all players. There are many ways that this real-time data exchange can help you improve the quality of service provided to your clients. Here are the top 5: 1) Track vehicle locations in real-time Monitoring on-time performance (OTP) can help you ensure clients consistently receive timely service. With access to real-time vehicle location information for all assigned trips, you and your providers can easily see when a driver is running late. Armed with this knowledge, providers can take action to call the drive...