Streamlining Long-Term Care Admissions with Intelligent Agreements

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Intelligent Agreement Management

Table of contents

• Manual agreement processes create hurdles in senior care
• Integrating agreement processes from inquiry to admission
• The real-world impact of transforming the senior care journey
• Getting started with the Docusign IAM platform in long-term care
• A brighter future for long-term care agreements

The senior population is growing rapidly in the U.S. and around the world. One in six Americans is now over 65, and many of this cohort will transition to senior living at some point during their retirement.

The aging of the population is placing heightened stress on the healthcare system, with 80% of Medicare beneficiaries saddled with at least two chronic medical conditions. Additionally, 9.5 million U.S. seniors live in a long-term or post-acute care facility for some length of time each year.

This surge in need-along with the growing complexity of senior care journeys-is creating a rising tide of paperwork, placing an overwhelming administrative burden on providers.

To introduce improved clarity, collaboration, and control to senior care, providers should embrace Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM). This article discusses how agreement technology and AI are transforming patient and resident onboarding, resulting in streamlined operations and seamless collaboration among patients, families, and care providers.

Manual agreement processes create hurdles in senior care

Healthcare and senior living organizations are powered by agreements.

Healthcare insurers process five billion claims annually in the U.S. To address this overwhelming volume of paperwork, the number of healthcare administrators has ballooned by 3,200% from 1975 to 2010, while the number of physicians only grew by 150% over the same period.

The type and number of agreements handled by administrators have grown materially in recent decades, and now include such varied documents as Medicaid waivers, assisted living applications, data sharing consent forms, HIPAA authorizations, advance directives, Durable Power of Attorney forms (POA), and Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST), and many more.

Yet despite this massive increase in documentation-and the staff needed to manage it-agreement processes have not kept up. Poor agreement management is destroying value, leading to:

• One in five residents experiencing delayed or abandoned onboarding

• Staff hours wasted

For long-term care clients and their families, manual, clunky agreement workflows contribute to an unmanageable onslaught of confusing onboarding documentation and consent forms, leading to frustration and delay.

For providers, the process is every bit as frustrating. Administrators must manage a deluge of document requirements that vary based on the level of care (such as a skilled nursing facility, assisted living, memory care, or home care), and interact with multiple responsible parties, including the resident, their spouse, other family members, and individuals holding POA. Repetitive data entry and missing information result in heightened compliance risk and delays in care.

This value destruction is driven by three root causes: fragmented processes, disconnected tools, and underleveraged data.

With IAM, providers can flip the script to:

• Create connected experiences at every touchpoint of care

• Automate internal agreement processes to drive efficiency

• Build trust with residents, families, and care providers

Integrating agreement processes from inquiry to admission

The key to optimized agreement workflows lies in adopting a comprehensive, intelligent platform to simplify the entire patient/resident admission lifecycle, putting the patient and family experience at the center of the process.

The typical journey for prospective residents and their families encompasses four key steps:

Step 1: Initial inquiry and personalized engagement

Challenge: A prospective resident or their loved one begins exploring options for senior care, an often overwhelming and stressful process that calls for accessible, tailored information and a simple, direct starting point.

Solution: Dynamic web forms provide an intuitive, public-facing entry point, enabling families to easily input initial information, which then triggers the auto-generation and delivery of personalized information packets (e.g., specific brochures for home care, assisted living, or skilled nursing facilities).

Step 2: Dynamic admission packet creation and routing

Challenge: Once an initial inquiry is made, the next hurdles include gathering and completing the often complex and varied admission documents, which vary depending on the level of care and the responsible party.

Solution: An intelligent workflow engine is designed to orchestrate this complexity. Using inputs automatically populated from the web form or 3rd party system, the system dynamically assembles a customized admissions packet to meet the prospective resident's exact needs. Using custom templates and data mapping across the workflow ensures that all documents are pre-populated with accurate patient information, minimizing manual entry and errors.

Step 3: Secure signing, collaboration, and tracking

Challenge: Families and responsible parties need a clear, secure, and easy way to review, sign, and manage all required documents. This step often involves multiple signers and supporting file uploads.

Solution: Modern IAM platforms offer a central, secure hub that provides families with a self-service portal to access documents, electronically sign agreements, upload supporting files (like a scanned POA or insurance card), and track status in real time. Simultaneously, staff gain centralized oversight, ensuring compliance and efficient progress.

Step 4: Ongoing obligation management and a holistic view

Challenge: Post-admission, providers must meet ongoing obligations, deadlines, and compliance requirements that demand proactive management and a comprehensive view of the senior's journey.

Solution: Using robust obligation management tools, administrators can easily track significant dates and milestones (e.g., move-in date, care type review, compliance checks) and gain a holistic view of the obligations across the patient journey. This enables the provider to proactively manage the relationship, adhere to regulations, and offer continuous, high-quality care.

The real-world impact of transforming the senior care journey

A modern IAM platform enhances the experience for all stakeholders. Patients can actively participate in their own care journey with confidence. Families gain increased transparency and a simplified understanding and facilitation of care for their loved ones. And staff benefit from reduced manual effort and centralized oversight of the process.

Providers also enjoy improved operational efficiency, with faster admissions processes, fewer errors, and enhanced compliance through dynamic forms and automated workflows. In practice, this reduces annoying and time-wasting "where's my document?" calls.

IAM also offers robust, data-driven insights, allowing providers to leverage collected data for targeted marketing campaigns and market research. It also provides a holistic, comprehensive view of the long-term care patient-including their chronic conditions, needs, and preferences.

Beyond admissions, IAM can also support back-office operations in senior care, bringing all agreement management needs across the business under one platform.

Getting started with the Docusign IAM platform in long-term care

With the Docusign IAM platform, organizations focused on senior care can transform agreements from an administrative burden into catalysts for better resident and family experiences, empowered staff, and improved operational efficiency. By providing staff with a single, extensible platform to manage all end-to-end agreement processes with unparalleled scale and trust, healthcare organizations typically see a reduction in staff time spent on agreements and compliance incidents. And improved data quality alleviates burnout and ensures fewer administrative hurdles that detract from resident care.

With an unmatched ecosystem of 1,000+ integrations and robust APIs, healthcare organizations can truly simplify complex administrative processes and alleviate staff burnout and turnover, ultimately making it easier for providers to focus on what truly matters: achieving positive health outcomes.

The IAM platform includes powerful tools and features designed to streamline onboarding, enhance transparency, and drive operational efficiency, including:

• Web Forms: Simplify onboarding with interactive, customizable forms to capture patient data

• Maestro: Route agreements automatically based on previously asked questions, helping ensure a hassle-free resident experience

• Workspaces: Provide a central hub for residents and their families to track tasks and milestones

• eSignature: Enable an intuitive signing experience across any device

Taking the first step toward IAM is simpler than you might think. The IAM platform is designed to be flexible and integrate seamlessly with your existing tech stack, including Microsoft, Salesforce, SAP, and more. This allows for a phased rollout, letting you start with key processes and expand as you go, ensuring a smooth transition and rapid time to value.

A brighter future for long-term care agreements

The Docusign IAM platform is rapidly transforming the future of senior care by empowering providers and staff to transform the resident experience and drive operational efficiency for your organization. Isn't it time to start your own journey?

Learn more about how Docusign for healthcare streamlines long-term care admissions and improves experiences across the care continuum.