A Better System for Medicaid and Service Management

Zender Parker is the Medicaid Specialist at Hampton City Schools on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay across from Norfolk Naval Base. Parker oversees the district’s Medicaid program, ensuring that service providers track and document their work accurately, reviewing documentation, working with the state to clarify protocols and procedures, and keeping providers and district leadership up to date.

Documenting services is no small task. Caseloads have increased and providers’ plates are full, so it’s important that Parker and her team ensure accuracy of documentation and that the process is efficient for providers, so the district can bill Medicaid to recoup funds.

Comparing Systems

Hampton City Schools has used Frontline Medicaid & Service Management (formerly called Accelify) for over a decade. A few years ago, the division opted to move away from Frontline’s system. The shift proved to be less than beneficial for providers with ever-changing caseloads based on new requirements, staff turnover, and overall structure of the system.

“The initial impact resulted in a slight decline in revenue that the division would have normally been able to recoup,” said Parker. Manual data entry by Parker was also an added checks-and-balances to ensure accuracy with the new system which can be challenging in a fast-paced office environment. “It could take me literally days to do something that should take a few minutes.”

“From the feedback that I’ve received from the providers, the system wasn’t as user-friendly,” Parker stated. The steep learning curve was going to potentially result in a loss of revenue.

Opting for Frontline

Easier for Providers

After a year with the other system, the division decided to return to using Frontline Medicaid & Service Management. “I could not be more excited. The providers are excited as well. They were really on board with us going back to Frontline and having a system that they are familiar with and provides an individualized approach to data entry that is compatible with the needs of the providers.”

With an increased demand on providers, Parker said they do everything they can to make life easier for them. “I knew one hundred percent that we would be able to hit the ground running and do what we needed to do as a school division to make sure that our providers had what they needed without being stressed out. It’s important that, for one thing, I’m not stressing them out to make sure that their documentation is being done and that they’re doing things in a timely manner, but to have a system that is so easy for them to maneuver through.”

“Because of the ease of using the system, it cuts down on what they have to do day to day. And I’ve heard positive feedback about how grateful they are to have a system that really is user friendly for them as a provider.”

Providers are able to devote the bulk of their time and expertise to servicing their students.

A Win-Win

Manual data entry is a thing of the past. Now, Parker digitizes the documents that service providers send her, reviews them to ensure accuracy, and signs off on them — a system that is quite welcome and timely as Parker’s role/responsibilities have expanded.

Reports are able to be run more efficiently by our providers as well. “With the click of a button, I can put filters on and get a report that is easy to report and disaggregate,” states Parker. “For us, the ease of using Frontline works.”

A True Partnership

Reflecting on her experience since switching back to Frontline, Parker said, “Shifting back to what was familiar was seamless and helped our productivity. While change does bring about chances for different opportunities, when working to bring in a consistent flow of revenue, I don’t like to leave that to chance.”

“The system, the team, the support we get from Frontline is just amazing.”