Getting Started

There are three options for working with documents and clients; Printing, Client Portal, and the Staff App. Each offers different opportunities for collecting signatures and delivering documents.

• Try out our Decision Tree to see what option works best for you.
• Accessing the Client Portal
• Accessing the Staff App

Options for Document Signature

Neo provides three options for getting a client's signature. Each has requirements that must be met before the process of signature can be completed. Here is a quick look at the options with the pros and cons of each. 

• Option 1: Printing 🖨️ 
  • The biggest appeal to printing is that it is familiar, and requires limited training for the staff. 
  • Signing paper forms is the slowest process. Within an office environment, the delays in printing and scanning can be acceptable, but if the documents must be mailed, it can add days to the process and complicate workflows that require the signature to continue. 
• Option 2: Client Portal 🧑🏻‍🤝‍🧑🏽
  • Documents are instantly available to the client and staff. Documents are easily tracked, and it makes workflows much faster than physical delivery systems.
  • Technical requirements for clients are much higher than paper. The interface to read and work with a document can be frustrating if the device is small. 
  • The client is likely to use the portal during times when staff are not available, which can lead to communication issues and incorrect actions taken on forms.
• Option 3: Staff App 📱
  • Documents are instantly available to the client and staff, just like the portal.
  • The technical requirement is much higher than any other option for the staff. The devices to collect signatures have security that must be navigated, as well as updates and battery life issues that may interfere with getting the signature. Depending on the staff's experience with technology, these device obstacles might make using paper more reliable.

Devices

Each option for document signing brings along a different set of options for how that signature is captured.

• Printer
  • Every document can be printed and scanned back into the client chart. Even if the document status is for it to be used electronically.
• Cell Phone
  • The Client Portal and Staff App are designed to work on phones, but due to the limited screen size, not all documents work well on it.
    • If a document (such as an ROI) requires the client to enter data, even in limited amounts, the phone can cause a lot of frustration trying to complete it.
  • The Staff App on a phone has a feature to use the camera as a Document Scanner, which can make a hybrid Print/Staff App Scanner workflow successful.
• iPad
  • Lightweight and has an electronic pen. The security is very strong, which can be very frustrating for staff to set up and use.
• Tablet-PC
  • It has a touch screen/pen interface and the largest screen size. The device is secure, but if Staff uses it for both Neo and the Staff App, there is a chance clients will switch windows to Neo and see client-protected information. This could result in a HIPAA violation. Never hand the client a Tablet-PC while Neo is open.

Document Workflows

Documents are a part of workflows, such as Treatment Plans, Releases of Information, Informed Consents, and more. So, when we are communicating about document creation, there isn't one process for everything, but an array of options that best fit that workflow.

Built-In Documents:

When a Treatment Plan is signed by a provider (and supervisor if needed), the option to client-sign is automatically available on the Client Portal and Staff App. No other actions are needed. If the client signs it on paper, it is automatically removed from the portal and Staff App as well.

Release of Information records have the option to send to the portal and remove it. These documents are more complex to fill out and may require staff to review them if the client does them independently on the Client Portal. 

Informed Consent for new medications can be sent to the Client Portal/Staff app from the Yellow Card. These documents work just like a signable Correspondence (see below). This option is generally only used if the client is not present when the Yellow Card is signed.

Access Center Forms is an option from the AC Dashboard. It is a list of correspondences and forms that allow staff to easily send documents, with prefilled-out options, to the Client Portal. Staff are in close communication with the client to help guide them through the process of accessing the client portal.

Correspondence, Forms, and Packets: 

Neo brings together the built-in forms (see above) and the ad hoc forms, correspondences, and documents in one place called Document Delivery. From the Document Delivery screen, staff can search for specific documents, see and alter the statuses, add new documents, find historical documents, and more.  

Life Cycle of a Document

Documents start as a Template. Each template can be categorized by program and location and defines how the document can be used (i.e. Printed, Client Portal/Staff App, Require Signature, etc.).

From the Document Delivery screen, these templates can be turned into documentation for the client. By using the staff's programs and locations, we can filter the templates down to the correct choices for that staff member. We can assist even more by creating Packets that group common templates together, such as orientation and discharge packets, and add all the documents at once. 

Once the document is added, the document path configuration in the template is engaged. If the template is set up to use the Client Portal or the Staff App, they will appear in the Pending Documents list. From there, staff can monitor when a document is done or if it needs to be reviewed. If it is intended to be printed, it can be done from the Document Delivery screen as well. Once completed, the document will move to the Document History for this client.

Deeper Dive on Documents

These articles go deeper into the options for document management.

• Printed Documents
• Sending Documents to sign on Portal/Staff App
• Sending Information Only Documents
• Create Annotation (free-form text) Documents for the Staff App