Short term accommodation (STA) is a type of temporary housing or rented accommodation. It is also known as respite and is directly funded through NDIS support in the form of Assistance with Daily Life. Generally speaking, short term accommodation includes the following services:

• Dedicated support staff during the day to facilitate self-care.
• Dispensing medications and providing personal care and assistance.
• Social activities, outdoor gatherings and meal services.
• Overnight stays and short stay visits.

These services are offered over a 24-hour period with blocks of shifts that are facilitated by a team of various staff throughout the day. These services are claimed under different line items depending on the time and the staff's skills. It may seem daunting at first to input claims and staff hours, but it is important to accurately calculate and claim these figures.

Due to the nature of the work, carers working in respite need to balance the services they provide clients with the documentation and reporting that NDIS requires. In this article, we are going to look at how a collaborative case management system can help streamline service delivery for those working in respite.

How does Comm.care help streamline service delivery for respite?

Using a collaborative case management system such as Comm.care by Pnyx improves how person-centred care can be delivered by streamlining much of the administrative work. This lets carers and staff spend more time providing meaningful services to clients. Moreover, using Comm.care makes it easier to document and verify case notes that are used to claim services rendered through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Using a collaborative case management system also means that staff can document their shift notes at the point of care and the next provider in the roster will be able to read in real-time forming one collaborative environment for the participant, as well as the service providers.

Completing Progress Notes in real-time

Using a case management system like Comm.care, allows staff to complete their progress notes in real-time using their preferred device; most staff prefer using Comm.care’s mobile friendly platform on their phone, or tablet. The system can be accessed from anywhere, allowing carers to document notes at the point of care. This, in turn, justifies the importance of writing notes and assists in shift handover as well as makes it easier to document progress.

To claim the hours worked, it's important for staff to document all service delivery and update their staff hours. Comm.care makes this much simpler by auto-populating the basic document checks and requirements outlined in the Provider Payment Assurance Program. There are a few additional features that make things easier for staff, such as an embedded timer within progress notes to record their hours as well as attachments to attach any images, files or documents related to the service delivery.

Bulk claiming service deliveries and it's line items

Comm.care is designed to make the claim process much more streamline and bulletproof. The reports tool lets the managers/admins send out invoices and statements to participants/plan managers in a matter of minutes. As soon as a carer completes their progress notes, a claim can be filed instantly.

Providing care services in respite is already a demanding job, so using a collaborative case management system can improve how the job is performed. From managing progress notes at the point of care to bulk claiming invoices, a good chunk of time spent on administrative duties is saved.