An interview with Crystal Parks, Marketing and Communications Director, and Rachel Alden, Program Manager, of Delta Health Technologies

As I mentioned in September, at Leading Home Care we are often asked for software recommendations for home care companies.  We have three Resource Partners that offer software for Private Duty home care companies.  While we know there are many other software companies out there, the three we have partnered with are not only software programs that we trust to do what they promise to do, but we know the people well and trust that they will do what they promise to do.

We recommend that you talk to each company and demo each product to make sure it offers what you need.  Each home care company has different needs, so testing different software and making an educated decision based on your experience is the best way to make the software decision for your company.

This week’s featured Resource Partner is Appointmate by Delta Health Technologies.  Crystal Parks and Rachel Alden are in the Sales and Marketing Department are were kind enough to take time out of their schedule to answer some questions about Appointmate’s features and capabilities.

How long has Delta Health Technologies and AppointMate been in business?

Founded in Altoona, Pennsylvania, in 1968, Delta Health Technologies began by offering data processing services to a local company. In response to a growing homecare market, Delta began providing information technology solutions to the home health industry in 1974. In 2009, Delta acquired AppointMate which had been in business since 2003.

Can you give us a summary of the functions of AppointMate?

AppointMate integrates scheduling, telephony and office management tools to help private duty agencies efficiently care for their clients. The software manages payroll and billing information and easily integrates with many standard billing and payroll systems such as QuickBooks for processing. By serving as the primary office management system, AppointMate maintains the data for your clients, caregivers and contacts.

What feature of AppointMate differentiates you from other home health/private duty software?

AppointMate has been in business for more than 11 years. With the support of a robust and long-standing home health, hospice and private duty software provider, AppointMate has supported private duty agencies through many industry changes. As such, AppointMate has a variety of customized options available to help meet the needs of our customers with choices that fit their business models.

What is the targeted company demographic for AppointMate?

AppointMate works best with medium to large private duty organizations. Today, we serve franchise organization and large stand-alone companies well.

Can you tell us about the security of client and caregiver information that is entered into the software?

Delta Health Technologies takes security very seriously and ensures that all possible measures are used to protect our customers’ sensitive information. The AppointMate application utilizes some of the most advanced technology for internet security available today. Information is protected using both server authentication and data encryption, ensuring that data is safe, secure and available only to registered users. In addition, Delta contracts with an outside third party provider, who is SSAE 16 compliant, to perform security scanning and testing based on several industry standard frameworks.

Is the software scalable to different company sizes and also for growth?

Yes! AppointMate is used by entry level franchisees and by robust, and growing, stand-alone agencies across North America.

Is the software customizable to the features owners want to use?

Yes! AppointMate customers enjoy access to the full set of software features, along with 100+ options to fit their specific business needs.

Can a customer build their own reports with the software?

AppointMate does not offer customized report writing at this time. However, AppointMate offers more than 200 reports to meet our customers’ reporting needs.

Does the software integrate with software that handle other aspects of a private duty or home health company, such as Caregiver Quality Assurance?

Yes! AppointMate integrates with Home Care Pulse.

How does the installation process work? And are there any typical hurdles that companies may see with installation?

As a cloud-based solution, AppointMate does not need to be installed. Rather, users can access their account like they would access other websites – through any internet browser. For professional level accounts, the implementation process can be relatively quick. AppointMate offers a set-up wizard as well as self-help tools to guide new customers.

How does the training process work? Are manuals available?

AppointMate offers user guides/manuals, pre-recorded training webinars and quick “Show-Me” videos to help customers use the system to its full potential. In addition, our knowledgeable staff host live monthly training webinars on relevant support topics.  For a fee, additional customized web-based or on-site training is available if desired.

How often is the software updated and how are the updates distributed and installed?

While exact timing can vary, software updates are pushed to users approximately every two months. Updates are applied for all customers automatically. Customers receive notice and can review the release notes describing the changes in the updates prior to the update taking place.

How does support for the software work – online, phone, on-site, or a combination? And is it included in the price of the software?

AppointMate offers both online and phone support. Our customer support is included in the monthly software fee.

Is telephony included in your price?

AppointMate includes the price of standard telephony in our monthly fees. We have a variety of telephony options available including standard telephony, task entry telephony, and a new GPS-based telephony called Companion. Companion allows caregivers to clock in and out using a mobile device and easily document care plan tasks.

As you can see AppointMate is a pretty robust software that can meet the needs of pretty much all home care companies out there.  Click here for more information and fill out the inquiry form today!