HealthStar Founder Earns Canadian Patent for Electronic Visit Verification
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., June 25, 2018 — HealthStar, LLC Founder and CEO Dr. Ed Breazeale has earned an additional patent for his company’s innovative approach to electronic visit verification (EVV). Issued by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office on May 4, patent No. 2,696,394 was granted for the underlying technology used in HealthStar Visit, the company’s signature EVV software.
In 2007, Breazeale designed the proprietary, GPS-based technology to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicaid reimbursement for services delivered in a home-based setting.
“Healthcare costs are a national concern,” Breazeale said. “HealthStar Visit substantially mitigates improper payments, equips payers with management tools for oversight, and provides an easy-to-use solution for providers. It’s a win for all stakeholders.”
Personal care services (PCS) spending is significant and growing. In the fiscal year 2014, federal and state spending on personal care totaled $14.5 billion, or about 18 percent of Medicaid’s spending on home and community-based services. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Employment Statistics projected that employment of personal care aides will grow by 26 percent from 2014 to 2024.
In Dec. 2016, President Barack Obama signed into law the 21st Century Cures Act, which requires the use of EVV technology for all Medicaid-provided personal care and home health services by Jan. 1, 2019. States failing to implement EVV face a tiered reduction in Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP) funding.
HealthStar Visit’s patented technology correlates the location-time data generated by a mobile electronic device with pre-approved data specified in a patient’s plan of care. Deployed directly to the patient at their residence, these devices capture and match information in real-time.
“Using a member-assigned, HealthStar-managed tablet, caregivers must check in and out of appointments and document the tasks performed during the visit,” Breazeale said. “Our system requires caregiver signature and allows the patient to confirm that services were performed as indicated.”
If care is delivered as prescribed, HealthStar Visit automatically generates an insurance claim for payment. If all pre-determined criteria are not met, the software disallows claiming.
In addition, HealthStar Visit:
- Requires the caregiver to answer questions about the patient’s health status
- Alerts the care manager when scheduled services are late or missed
- Measures patient satisfaction
The original HealthStar Visit platform was constructed for the state of Tennessee, which has the most robust set of EVV requirements in the country. With its modular design, HealthStar Visit can easily accommodate state and health plan differences while maintaining system integrity.
HealthStar Visit is also convenient for caregivers completing their administrative duties. Because the technology translates completed EVV appointments into an industry-accepted claim format, HealthStar Visit provides an inherent revenue cycle management benefit to providers. Claims are transmitted directly to payers each night so caregiver agencies don’t have to use a clearinghouse or employ additional office resources for billing.
“HealthStar simplified the provider end of workflows to a point that our efficiencies are far greater on their platform compared to the other mandated platform we use for a different MCO,” said Kanu Kaushal, Founder and CEO of home care agency Senior Solutions Home Care. “HealthStar delivers on the technology end.”
About HealthStar, LLC
HealthStar is a healthcare technology company based in Knoxville, Tennessee. On Aug. 22, 2017, Founder and CEO Dr. Ed Breazeale was issued his first patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. HealthStar Visit is compliance-conscious, proprietary EVV software utilized by payers in the Medicaid PCS segment. For more information, visit https://www.healthstarconnects.com.
Company Contact:
Elizabeth Wright, VP of Finance HealthStar, LLC
865-357-8960
[email protected]
