The Challenge:

A County’s Board of Developmental Disabilities relies on its SSAs to be a point of contact for individuals who need assistance with developmental, mobility, or other healthcare-related issues. Matching clients with the appropriate service provider is a necessary yet overwhelming, time-consuming task, especially when navigating the complex procedures and regulations dictated by the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities.

It’s the agency’s responsibility to ensure the client’s rights are protected and they have a free choice of providers. At the same time, they have to make sure clients get the care and services they request and needed by a specified deadline. The agency must also accurately evaluate and confirm the provider is qualified with all necessary credentials, while also ensuring the provider’s availability.

There needs to be an easy way for providers to show their interest. Equity must be maintained between all qualified and certified providers, giving each of them an equal chance to join and bid on client requests.

Complying with these requirements can put hurdles between individuals and them getting the care they need. With a simplified and streamlined process, agencies can broaden their reach to assist more clients, give each individual tailored care, and ultimately save time, resources, and money that can be used to help even more people.

The Solution:

Care Choice’s Free Choice of Provider solution is a user-friendly tool aimed at addressing all the challenges faced by agencies. Using the tool, SSAs can easily advertise their clients’ requests for all qualified & certified providers, eliminating the need for them to spend time sending and responding to multiple emails. They can also view details such as full case details and what providers are active, how frequently any provider is being used, and filter cases to match qualifications to their client’s needs.

Once service requests are posted, providers can then bid on the requests they would like to handle. All qualified providers can see and access any services needed, giving everyone an equal chance to match with an individual. The Board can also access all case details and choose to either accept or deny service requests from the portal. Since clients have multiple providers to choose from, it ultimately leads to better overall care for them. It also speeds up the time it takes for the clients to get matched with a qualified provider.

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With the Free Choice of Provider tool, agencies and SSAs can spend more time putting their skills and efforts into other activities that help instead of spending time going over emails, checking credentials, and other tasks needed to find adequate providers to serve their clients. And it makes it easier for providers to reach and give them the proper care they need and deserve.