homecare homebase

Specialties Hospice

Published

We are in the process of transitioning from McKesson to HCHB. I had the impression HCHB was going to be sooooooo simple and less time consuming. ...well, im not seeing it...or not yet anyway. We had laptops with McKesson and use tablets with HCHB. However, we are still having to carry laptops to access the "back office" of HCHB. Theres a lot more actual typing then i anticipated. ..which is difficult on a tablet. What has your experience been with HCHB? Do you love it? Learned some time saving tricks you could share? We had very minimal training. ...hoping it's going to get better.....soon...

Worst documentation system EVER! Tedious, difficult to learn, overly complicated with inadequate goals. I could go on. Why any company would pick this crappy system over Kinnser is beyond me. I keep wondering when the Medicare reviewers are going to start smacking down on companies who use this software for having poor documentation. I wish that the corporate types who decide to buy this junk would field test it first with the people who have to actually use it. It may be cheaper but you get what you pay for.

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Forgot to mention the lack of adequate training materials, no user manual to refer to when you get stuck, patient complaints when one spends most of the visit documenting, and the endless loops that you can get stuck in. The only people who find this easy are the software programmers who wrote this turkey. I think they forgot that real people who care about patients and giving excellent care have to use it.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.

Someone here suggested that HomeBase is a hospice specific program. It is not. It was designed for home care and tweaked to work in hospice like most other programs.

SunCoast is hospice specific.

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I am so glad my company has stuck with paper documentation! We have 1 page to fill out for our routine visits! The state surveyor has said there is nothing wrong with our forms. I can't imagine why all these hospice companies are trying to make everything so difficult.

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Specializes in Addictions, Psych, Critical Care, Hospic.

The initial joy and feeling of job satisfaction that I experienced when starting out in hospice is over. It feels as though the one's that bought out, took over and moved onto administration have single handedly taken what was supposed to be a benefit and turned it into a Walmart. The care I am morally bound to provide when combined with, "The new deal," has taken its final toll. I don't know who will be around to do the job, but I do know it will never be what it was supposed to be. Unfortunately for me I am finding it very difficult to cross into another field of work. My only choices seem to be LTC which with all its regulations and ridiculous constraints makes a critical thinker, independent nurse in a real mess.

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I am pretty very conversant with Cradle and Kinnser for completing Oasis-C. I like that both programs are web-based and you can complete your Oases on any web-capable device. I like to document on my desktop computer. I have three laptops, but my desktop is my favorite. It's my work station. Even with my level of comfort with both programs, completing an Oasis does take some time - 60 to 90 minutes, roughly for me. Occasionally, if the patient does not have a lot going on, it runs more quickly. I can live with that.

I have a 2014 Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tab, which I could take with me to patients' houses, but I don't because I find it very inconvenient and time-wasting. I can do easily in 30 minutes what will take me 90 minutes or more to do on a tablet - any tablet. The very fact that it is way more difficult to type on a tablet than on an actual computer with a physical keyboard is sufficient for me not ditch any documentation system that compels me to complete my Oases on a tablet. This is exactly what Homecare Homebase does.

I have recently turned down a number of offers for employment when I found out that the documentation system used is Homecare Homebase. The program is tied to a tablet - a 7" tablet, in my case - and you are expected to complete your Oases on the tablet, in the patient's home. Really!!! I do not think so. Plus, after reading about all the frustrations that Homecare Homebase brings to field nurses, I know I don't ever want to be a part of anything that is based on Homecare Homebase. I cannot work for any home health agency that will require me to complete an Oases on a tablet and in a patient's home. Be it Homecare Homebase or any other documentation system that is tied to a tablet and that compels you to use it in a patient's home, I refuse to be saddled with that burden. Absolutely no way!

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Have you tried using the SWYPE option for your keyboard with the Samsung galaxy tablet? It takes a bit to catch on but when you do it is much faster. I can SWYPE so much faster than I can TYPE.

Also, HCHB sucks that it is not web based and requires SYNCING everytime you turn around.

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Try using the SWYPE keyboard. It takes a few practices and you have to watch the words are correct. It sure beats tablet typing.

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This is the worse program ever. This program does not allow nurses to manage their case loads, manage patients and be a case manager. There are to many workflow steps that cause undo delays. It is very time consuming and costly to use this program. Employers have to have staff working the program like 24/7. Don't consider this program. Charting is a nightmare, duplicating work and takes a long time to complete. Home Care Home Based has snowed sooooooo many company's. Better systems exist. Terrible terrible system. Beware!

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Specializes in Hospice, Critical Care.

The Plan of Care does not meet compliance standards in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania either as it cannot be customized (at least for hospice). You can tell hospice is a force-fit into this home care documentation system

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HCHB allows the user to do more but to do more you must have more knowledge about how HCHB works. Its a bitc$ to learn all there is to know about HCHB. Most employers don't give adequate training. I used HCHB at my old RN home health nurse job then went to a new company who used Netsmart which took less time to do a SOC or SN visit then our company was bought out by another company who uses HCHB and everyone new to HCHB is having difficulty learning HCHB and I'm thinking whoo I'm so glad I already went through the headache of learning HCHB. I put the VS in at patients home then do my SOC at home - last SOC the HCHB clock read 1 hour 54 minutes when completed. If you learn the copy and paste which no one ever tells you about you can make a copy and paste list sent to your clipboard which saves time. So many tricks in HCMB to save time that no one teaches.

Living the life in Sunny Fort Myers

Jeff Mason, RN

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Specializes in Hospice.
HCHB allows the user to do more but to do more you must have more knowledge about how HCHB works. Its a bitc$ to learn all there is to know about HCHB. Most employers don't give adequate training. I used HCHB at my old RN home health nurse job then went to a new company who used Netsmart which took less time to do a SOC or SN visit then our company was bought out by another company who uses HCHB and everyone new to HCHB is having difficulty learning HCHB and I'm thinking whoo I'm so glad I already went through the headache of learning HCHB. I put the VS in at patients home then do my SOC at home - last SOC the HCHB clock read 1 hour 54 minutes when completed. If you learn the copy and paste which no one ever tells you about you can make a copy and paste list sent to your clipboard which saves time. So many tricks in HCMB to save time that no one teaches.

Living the life in Sunny Fort Myers

Jeff Mason, RN

Can you explain more regarding copy and posting to your clipboard. I have no idea what a clipboard in HCHB is.

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