Connected Care Blog

Building Referral Sources - Sales is not a dirty word

Thu, 03 May 2012 12:13:00 -0400

Everyone 'sells' in a home healthcare agency. Referrals are promoted by word of mouth by patients as well as sales staff that reaches out to physicians or hospitals to market their services. For the most part, all homecare and hospice agencies provide similar services - so what set's your business apart from the rest? Why should your business get the referral?

The answer is simple - physicians will refer to you because they believe you provide great care with excellent outcomes to their patients. But what makes you different? That answer will set you apart from other competing agencies.

What you need to do first is to : Review your strengths and weaknesses, learn about your competitors, and develop a plan to improve your services and communicate those differences to your potential referral sources.

Thereafter, you can build your message and communication plan. Understand who your target audience is and what is important to them. Then you can develop a message that will resonate with them related to your specialty of services offered, technology solutions that help you connect with the referring physician's office and provide tangible results of patient satisfaction.

The results will be significant for your agency: more referrals and good patient outcomes.

KLAS Evaluates Homecare Software Solutions

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:33:00 -0500

Thornberry Achieves High KLAS Score of 92.2

Thornberry Ltd. is pleased to announce it received a high overall KLAS score of 92.2 in the homecare category, and a 91 in the hospice category (both based on a 100 point scale) in the "2011 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Professional Services," December 15, 2011. 2011 KLAS Enterprises, LLC. All rights reserved. www.KLASresearch.com. The annual Best in KLAS report ranks the best-performing healthcare IT vendors in more than 100 market segments based on ratings from over 18,000 interviews with healthcare providers.

Are You Ready for ACOs?

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:12:00 -0500

Over the last five years it has been suggested that the homecare & hospice industry has quickly adopted EMR technology in an effort to improve efficiency, patient outcomes and profits.

The push towards technology is also in preparation for the impending firestorm of a dwindling Medicare Trust Fund, reductions to state Medicaid programs and the Affordable Care Act. But, it isn't about just adopting technology. Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) will demand quality documentation that's collected electronically at the point of care, so that patient data can be easily shared across care settings.

However, reports indicate that EMR enabled or not, paper-based charting is still rampant. It seems that 53% of homecare & hospice agencies are still using paper to chart at the point of care, even if they've invested in an EMR solution.

Thornberry Celebrates National Home Care & Hospice Month

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:29:00 -0500

We are pleased to join the nation in celebrating November as Home Care & Hospice Month. According to the National Association of Home Care & Hospice, approximately 12 million Americans benefit from home-delivered health care from 33,000 home health care providers. Thornberry has made it a priority to develop a software system that is specifically designed to meet the demands of the home care and hospice industry. More than 2,000 home care and hospice nurses utilize NDoc nationwide to help them better serve their patients.

As the nation takes extra time to honor the home care and hospice industry, it is our goal to honor this special industry every day by providing an effective solution that helps home care and hospice providers improve and maintain the health of their patients

HCA Quality and Technology Conference

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 09:06:00 -0400

Today, we are at the HCA Quality and Technology Conference where attendees are taking a close look at the benefits of telehealth during the daylong Home Telehealth Certification Program.

Integrated telehealth technology holds huge promise for delivering and managing patients with chronic illnesses in their homes. Studies have shown compelling results for telehealth technology that's integrated with an electronic medical record (EMR).

Do More with Less

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:37:00 -0400

"Do more with less" is a mantra most industries share these days. The challenge for home care is real: with the Affordable Care Act, a dwindling Medicare Trust Fund and reductions to some state Medicaid programs, how do you do more with what seems to be a never ending storm of cuts?

NAHC is Over - Now What?

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 09:03:00 -0400

The NAHC 30th Annual Meeting & Exposition has come and gone. You came home with a folder filled with ideas, business cards and sales material all promising to make you and your agency a home care super star! So...now what?

Welcome Aboard!

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:25:00 -0400

Thornberry welcomes three new staff members, Rosa Cunha as Clinical Systems Specialist, Will Amesbury as Support Programmer and Kathy Clark as Sales Product Specialist.

Home Care Rolls the Dice in Vegas

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 13:05:00 -0400

Maximizing opportunity and minimizing risk is not gambling advice, but it is, however, the theme for the National Association for Home Care & Hospice 30th Annual Meeting & Exposition. The conference just kicked off, in Las Vegas, and will run through October 5, 2011.

Thornberry is a proud to be an exhibitor at booth #548. Since 1995, Thornberry has been providing home care and hospice agencies with an extensive set of tools to maximize opportunity and minimize risk. Stop by our booth to learn how an effective technology strategy can position your agency for success.

New KLAS Report Examines Homecare Software Vendors

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:50:00 -0400

KLAS identified Thornberry as one of the best of breed leaders in homecare performance scores. KLAS interviewed more than 300 home health agencies and the results are gathered in the report, "Homecare 2011: New Expectations, New Market Energy," September 2011. © 2011 KLAS Enterprises, LLC. All rights reserved. www.KLASresearch.com