Mutual Visits

The Mutual with Service Type involves servicing two Patients who have overlapping visits. The Patients receiving service must be linked prior to the visit for service to be scheduled. For example:

  • Patient A is setup to receive Mutual service.

  • Patient B is setup to receive Mutual service.

  • Patients A and B are linked.

  • Visits on Patient A and B’s Calendar may be scheduled at the same time with the same Caregiver.

The setup and scheduling of Mutual visits, as well as the logic behind confirmation and Duty assignment is covered in this section.

Mutual visits can only be scheduled with Service Codes assigned for this Service Type. Complete the following steps to create or edit Service Codes.

  1. Go to Admin > Reference Table Management.

  2. Select Contract Service Code under the Fiscal section from the Reference Table field. Click the Add button to create a Service Code.

    Reference Table: Contract Service Code

  3. The Contract Service Code window opens. Complete all required fields and select the Mutual checkbox. Click Save.

    Contract Service Code Window

  4. Go to Admin > Search Contract and select the Contract authorizing the Mutual visits.

  5. Go to the Billing Rates section and click the New Rate button to open the Contract Rate window.

  6. Complete all required fields. Select the applicable Service Code(s) to be used for scheduling Mutual visits. Click Save.

    New Contract Rate

To schedule Mutual visits, Patient information must be properly configured. This involves designating Patients as requiring Mutual visits, linking two Patients together, defining a Primary Patient, and setting up Authorizations.

Authorizations must be set up for each Patient in a mutual case. Complete the following steps to create or edit Authorizations.

  1. Go to Patient > Patient Search and select the appropriate Patient.

  2. Select Authorizations/Orders from the left navigation panel.

  3. Click the Edit link or click the Add button to create a new one.

  4. In the Patient Authorization window, complete the required fields. Ensure to enter a Service Code that is set up for Mutual Visit.

    New Authorization

  5. Complete this process for both Patients in the Mutual case.

Complete the following steps to designate a Patient as requiring Mutual visits.

  1. Go to Patient > Patient Search and select the appropriate Patient.

  2. Select General from the left nav and click the Edit button.

  3. In the Service Type field, select the Mutual With value. Two Patients must be linked to save changes when selecting this option. Click the ? link to the right of the field to search for the mutual Patient.

    Service Type: Mutual With

    The system only allows two Patients for Mutual Visits if they have the same phone number on record.

  4. Select the Primary checkbox to assign the Patient as the primary which allows the system to recognize which Patient’s Duties are being entered first when a Caregiver Clocks OUT.

  5. Once a successful link is made between two Patients, a header message displays in both Patient Profiles.

    Click the linked Patient’s name to toggle between each of the Patients.

    Mutual Patient Header

Complete the following steps to schedule Mutual Visits.

  1. Go to Patient > Patient Search and select the Primary Patient.

  2. Select Calendar from the left navigation panel.

  3. Select a date and add a New non-skilled visit. Complete all required fields. Ensure to select the correct Service Code. Click Save.

  4. Upon saving the visit, a warning Warning icon icon in the visit cell appears. This warning indicates that the other Patient in the mutual case referred to as a Secondary Patient does not have a matching visit on their calendar.

    Primary Patient Scheduled

    Go to the Secondary Patient’s Calendar and create a new visit to match the scheduling details of the Primary Patient. Once saved, the warning icon is removed from the Calendar.

    Primary and Secondary Patient: Matching Schedules

  5. The Caregiver is only required to Clock-IN and Clock-OUT once for both visits. The system applies the EVV to both visits if they are scheduled correctly. Duties are entered for both Patients when Clocking OUT. For example:

    1. Caregiver Clocks IN at 1000.

    2. The system applies the EVV to the scheduled visit on both the Primary and Secondary Patient’s Calendar.

    3. Caregiver Clocks OUT at 1200. The Caregiver enters the Primary Patient’s duties first, followed by 00 or 000 (depending on your Agencies IVR settings). The Caregiver then enters the Secondary Patient’s duties, followed by 00 or 000.

    4. The system applies the EVV and duties to the scheduled visit on both the Primary and Secondary Patient’s Calendar.