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Ten Must Have Features in NEMT Software

The services provided by non-emergency medical transportation providers are vital to the community. Many families rely on NEMT services to ensure that their family members can get to essential appointments. To be able to provide the best NEMT service to your customers and community, it’s crucial to have these features in NEMT software to run your business effectively, efficiently, and maximize the potential of your business.

1. Multi Fleet Capability

No matter the size of your current fleet, you’ll want to find NEMT software that offers the capability of handling multiple fleets. While your business may be smaller today, implementing this software now means you’ll be able to easily add to your fleet. Without having to implement new software or processes to be able to handle multiple vehicles. In addition, with the right software, you can manage one fleet and even multiple fleets for different companies utilizing the same platform.

2. Real-Time GPS Vehicle Monitoring

There are a lot of benefits that come from real-time GPS vehicle monitoring on a variety of fronts:

  • You can best keep track of your vehicles and drivers when using real-time GPS.

  • It can protect your staff, protect you regarding proper reporting, and help your business identify problem drivers.

  • It’s also great for your clients who need to be picked up and dropped off to help them be ready for their driver’s arrival.

  • It offers peace of mind for all stakeholders.

    • 3. Auto-Scheduling

    Scheduling your drivers and their routes can be complicated. Utilizing auto-scheduling with machine learning and AI helps to reduce the complexity of this job. Dispatch can rely on the auto-scheduling feature to handle many of your routes. Using this feature helps to free up your dispatchers to deal with more complex customer needs.  

    4. Auto Trip Attestation

    One thing that every business owner wishes to have is to streamline how they get paid. Therefore, a NEMT feature that is a must for your software is auto trip attestation. Thanks to how the software is designed, your trips are attested automatically and instantaneously as they are finished. That means that not only will your billing and payment be more accurate, but you’ll often get paid much faster.

    5. Billing and Claims

    Any software that you choose for your NEMT business should offer billing and claims features. Billing is one of the most critical factors of your business. It ensures that you get paid for the rides that your non-emergency medical transportation company is providing. Therefore, good NEMT software should have an option to use their billing and claims feature. Where it can be automatically updated with the data in the system after a ride occurs.

    6. Integration

    Are you worried about what you’ll do with your current billing company that you are used to working with for all of your billing and claims needs? The good news is that with the right NEMT software, you can use your own billing company so that you don’t have to learn a new system or try out a new company. You can stick with a company that you know and trust when billing and claims from your company can be integrated with your new software.

    7. Price Modeling

    Not every ride you provide costs the same, right? So why not have an easy way to handle how your rides are priced. Price modeling is a great feature to have for your new NEMT software. You can customize the different pricing rules to help make it easier to create costs for the various factors that go into your prices. For example, time of day, type of vehicle, services, and more can be used to determine the right price for a specific trip. NEMT software that doesn’t offer this feature can limit you to creating more specific pricing guides.

    8. Bookkeeping

    NEMT software that offers bookkeeping on top of all of the other features is a keeper. Bookkeeping can be complicated for any business, but with NEMT software that has it built-in, it can access all of the data in the system to calculate everything you need to run your business. You’ll be able to access accounts receivable, claims, statements, and even create invoices for your clients all in one place.

    9. Reporting

    A crucial feature that you need with your new NEMT software is the ability to create reports. Your software should provide you with insight into your business by crunching the data available to create a variety of reports. These reports can be used to develop future forecasts and help answer questions you may have about your company’s potential growth. They can be used to create a bigger picture of your company, from how your drivers perform to how you can grow your business by adding more clients. In addition, these reports can help to keep you compliant with the insurance companies, the state, and other agencies you have to report to as a non-emergency medical transportation provider.

    10. Booking Portal

    A final feature that can be very helpful for your business is the booking portal. You want NEMT software that makes it easy for anyone to be able to use your booking portal. For example, do you let patients book their own trips? Do you require facilities to handle the booking? Any software that you choose should allow you to create a booking portal that gives your selected individuals a user-friendly interface that they can use to create trips, make payments, and confirm transportation appointments. The more accessible these processes are for your clients, facilities, and other stakeholders, the less of a load your dispatchers have to handle when it comes to booking easy trips.

    Why Is It Important To Choose the Right NEMT Software?

    While choosing the wrong NEMT software won’t destroy your business, it can certainly impact your business negatively as you may be missing out on features that could help improve your business. Therefore, you’ll want to find at least these ten features in your next NEMT software to maximize your company’s potential.

    Are you looking for the right NEMT software for your non-emergency medical transportation business? Check us out at Tobi Cloud today to learn more about our NEMT software’s features. Then, ask yourself what Tobi can do for your business.

    5 Challenges of Non-emergency Medical Transportation and Tips on Overcoming Them

    According to a recent study, 40% of Americans faced various transportation barriers during the height of the pandemic. As a result, many are delayed in seeking medical care. It just shows how vital non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) is to healthcare services.

    Nonetheless, NEMT goes beyond basic transportation services. It has its challenges to overcome, including legal compliances, optimizing operations, and accommodating specific patients’ needs. As non-emergency medical transportation businessowners, you need the right tools and strategy to provide the best services to your customers.

    Knowing the common challenges in the NEMT industry can help you prepare for overcoming them. So read on to find out how you can strengthen and improve your operations.

    1.   Compliances and requirements

    Although NEMT has no formal guidelines, each state has its own non-emergency medical transportation requirements and rules that companies must follow. Moreover, service providers are expected to report deficiencies proactively to state officials.

    For example, certain states require certifications and licenses for your staff. After all, driving patients has its inherent risks. You need trained drivers who can handle basic medical emergencies and care. Failure to comply might result in penalties and liabilities.

    Hence, the real challenge is monitoring your compliance adherence. You need to keep a record of all the contract requirements and appropriate regulations to operate without issues. Luckily, you can use software to help you manage your records and audits. It can automate tasks such as data collection, vehicle tracking, and driver evaluation to ensure that everything adheres to your state’s guidelines.

    2.   Late arrivals or no-shows

    A common concern among NEMT beneficiaries is customer service. According to FierceHealthare’s non-emergency medical transportation statistics, most complaints are related to late arrivals or no-shows. Some would even have to call for a NEMT the day before their actual medical appointment.

    Most NEMT programs allow customers to have freedom of choice on their service provider. However, some states waived this choice due to cost-efficiencies. This makes it harder for NEMT businesses to foster better and lasting relationships with their customers.

    To overcome this hurdle, consider creating a booking portal to provide self-service options for your customers. It will serve as a one-stop platform where they can avail of your services, track the status of their booking, and interact with your drivers.

    3.   System responsiveness

    The current NEMT programs work well with regularly scheduled and recurring services. But when it comes to time-sensitive transportations, some service providers fail to respond as quickly as their customers expect. It often ends up with late pickups, lack of available drivers, and overscheduling.

    Prevent this from happening by automating your fleet management and scheduling. Various software solutions can help you with the task. There are programs designed specifically for NEMT services. So you have to conduct thorough research and invest in the right NEMT service.

    For example, look for software that can automate your scheduling system to ensure there is no overbooking. Likewise, it should give you an overview of your fleet’s status so you know the availability and locations of your drivers or vehicles. Some software can even automate dispatch so that drivers can get to their destination as quickly as possible.

    You may check out Tobi Cloud if you are looking for smart NEMT software to manage your dispatching and scheduling needs.

    4.   Visibility and transparency

    Most of the inefficiencies in NEMT operations can be traced back to its lack of visibility and transparency. Unfortunately, many NEMT providers are still stuck with using paper-based systems for record-keeping and managing operations. This makes it harder for them to keep track of their drivers and vehicles, billings, reimbursements, and customers.

    One of the advantages of NEMT software is that it leverages various data to give you a comprehensive overview of your operations. It offers features such as fleet and GPS tracking, customer management, and automated billings. Having a single platform to manage your operations makes all your data easily accessible and available to you. It allows you to analyze your business’ performance and determine areas of improvement.

    5.   Fraud and abuse

    As part of healthcare, the NEMT industry is also a prime target for fraudsters and other criminals. It can come in the form of false calls, cyberattacks, and abuse of the system. In some cases, beneficiaries collude with your staff to sign off on non-existent rides in return for kickbacks on falsely paid claims and non-emergency medical transportation rates.

    Protect your business by boosting transparency and data collection within your operations. Invest in the appropriate tools to combat frauds and other cyberattacks. For example, cyber security tools can help you monitor and evaluate activities within your digital systems. This will notify you of any suspicious access and incidents during your operations. NEMT solutions can also provide you with GPS tracking to check your drivers’ performance and activities while dispatched.

    Overcoming the barriers

    Patients have diverse needs depending on their conditions and status in life. Some need different types of doctors; some need time-sensitive treatments. Meanwhile, others need transportation services to help them get to their medical appointment in time.

    Hence, NEMT plays a critical role in patient welfare. It would help if you guaranteed you could accommodate their specific demands and needs. To do that, you must first overcome the challenges that your business might face.

    Go ahead and explore what tools you can use to optimize your processes. Consider trying out NEMT solutions like Tobi Cloud to find out more.

    How Digital Transformation Can Change NEMT Industry

    The term digital transformation can be confusing for some. Going over what digital transformation is in general and how it can impact the NEMT industry is worthwhile. It’s all about adding value to the customer’s interaction with a business, and as a very customer-centric business, NEMT’s can see value in this viewpoint. Let’s dive down into what may seem like a scary idea, but it is a valuable part of the growing NEMT industry. 

    What Is Digital Transformation?

    In general, a digital transformation is when a company uses digital technology available to them to change and modify the company thoroughly. This term encompasses the changes that occur with how the company handles its business processes and how the customer interacts and experiences the company. Finally, it can have a lasting impact on the culture of the company. In some cases, this digital transformation turns into a complete reimagining of the business. Digital transformation can be an action that changes the entire company in some instances, or it may just streamline the way things were already being done previously. Again, it depends on the company. With a digital transformation, the process often goes beyond the individual roles inside the business but looks at how the company and customers engage each other. It’s a way to create a better environment for its clients as the business moves from analog paper to more digital solutions, such as software and smart applications. Any type of change can be tricky, and to some companies, it can be stressful for employees, especially in instances where the differences are profound. 

    How Can Digital Transformation Benefit NEMT Industry?

    A digital transformation can be very beneficial to the NEMT industry. In some cases, you may find that your business was constructed with the idea of building bridges with your clients from the very beginning, and you may not have to do much to implement a digital transformation strategy. Digital transformations will allow your company to execute your ambitions and improve any gaps that your patients may be seeing in their transportation needs. Filling these gaps can help to boost your customers’ feedback positively, increase referrals, and often, can be good for morale while improving how your staff gets their job done.  

    Significant Challenges During Transformation

    There are a few challenges that can come up during a digital transformation. One of the biggest can often be how your staff perceives these changes. Often, the best way to handle a stressful transition, especially if you are implementing a lot of changes to improve your business, is to be upfront and honest about the changes. Letting your staff know how this is helping the company and how it can help do their jobs easier upfront can help even the most resistant to change. Another potential challenge comes when something in the plan looks great on paper, but it may not work exactly as planned. That can often be why it’s essential to ensure that the person creating the digital transformation gets feedback and input from all the different roles in the company. They may have a way of doing things for the patients that weren’t considered during the initial setup of the digital transformation. There may need to be tweaks involved in your overall plan as you put it into place.  

    How To Build a Digital Transformation Strategy for NEMT Industry?

    There is more to a digital transformation strategy for any business than just updating the software and applications used for the company. Instead, it’s about creating a change centered around the client and leveraging a change that will benefit them. In turn, starting a business with customer satisfaction as the cornerstone will help separate you from other NEMT companies in your area of service. Often, the first step to creating a digital transformation strategy for your NEMT service is to evaluate what you’re currently doing. The best way to handle this is to ask for feedback. Speak to all of the different stakeholders of your business. For example, talk to your staff, your patients, and the companies you do business with to see what you can learn about what is going right and what could be tweaked during the digital transformation. Some of the companies that can be excellent sources of information include your software provider, hospitals, and other care facilities that use you for transportation. 

    Surveys are a great way to collect data. Creating a committee that can work together on creating the plan with people from throughout the business, especially for a larger company, can be an excellent way to have every department’s viewpoint represented. Once the data is gathered, it’s time to analyze it and put the generated ideas into a written plan. Once this plan is approved, then it’s time to implement it. Don’t worry if it doesn’t go well right away. Getting your strategy entirely right may take time, and changes may be necessary for the beginning stages. In addition, you may find that you outgrow your early design or new technology makes it essential to start this process again.  

    Bottom Line

    The bottom line is that there’s a good chance that if your company started out using technology and had a customer focus all along, any digital transformation strategies you put into play won’t be as scary as a company that needs to change dramatically. Although even if you’re still using paper maps and only phone calls for your NEMT service, you may find that going through a digital transformation won’t be overly jarring for those who use smartphones and computers. Honestly, if you’ve ever used an app to order a ride home after a night out or had dinner delivered after a long day of work, you will more than likely adapt well to an upcoming digital transformation.  The benefits available for the NEMT industry using specially designed NEMT software are astounding, and you’ll wonder why you waited so long for the change. Speak with one of our staff members to learn more about what our software offers and how it can be best implemented into your current processes. 

    5 Ways to Take Your NEMT Business to the Next Level

    You’ve gone through all the motions and now have your very own NEMT business. Congratulations on making it this far with your new endeavor. It’s not time to rest on your laurels, though. Instead, it’s time to consider the five ways that you can take your NEMT business to the next level and continue growing. 

    Ensure ADA Compliance

    One of the vital areas of your NEMT business relies on your vehicles. If you didn’t check to ensure that your cars are in ADA compliance before setting up your business, it’s time for you to evaluate them. Going through this step means that you care for the most comfortable transportation possible for your clients. ADA compliance may seem like something to skimp on, but your passengers will notice when your vehicles are just barely at the standards set. Going above and beyond will help get your company noticed above your competitors. Passengers will want to book with the company they feel takes their needs in mind when setting up vehicles for transport. 

    Manage Your Expenses

    Starting your business was expensive, and keeping it running always means managing your expenses. The expenses to ensure that you have enough money to put into the business, pay your employees while still profitable. A great way to keep your NEMT business growing is to evaluate where you are spending your money. It’s possible that there are ways for you to reduce your unnecessary spending while investing money into areas that will help your business be more successful. For instance, when you started your business, you may have handled some of the aspects on your own with DIY efforts, such as creating your website and marketing strategy. It may be time to evaluate your initial steps and invest in professional services reworking your initial efforts to give them polish they may lack.   

    Rise Above Your Competition

    Once you’ve established yourself, it’s time to look at ways that you can outperform your competition. There’s nothing wrong with checking out your competition and seeing what they offer. Look at their website to evaluate what you think they are doing right and what could be improved. What do their reviews say about their business compared to yours? Then, take what you’ve learned and implemented it into your operations. It may be hard to overcome your bias when trying to see what your business may be lacking. Once you’re honest with yourself, the sky is the limit when it comes to improvements.

    Work With NEMT Brokers 

    When you’re working on your own, you only have the clients that know about your business. Working with NEMT brokers can help you in growing your business. A broker has contacts with various medical companies, care homes, and other sources of clients that can help you fill your schedule and keep your drivers busy. Partnering with a NEMT broker can boost your business with minimal effort on your part. 

    Use the Best NEMT Software 

    The NEMT software you use for your business will dictate how well your business is performing. You want NEMT software that will give you an edge over the competition. You should invest in software that will help you streamline your dispatch efforts. You need software that can help you to improve your service by analyzing the data and allows for the most reliable service possible. The best software will let you manage your fleet, dispatch, and clients while providing you with the best reporting and analytics possible. Investing in the best NEMT software will improve your profits in the long run, even if you’re spending more initially.  Looking to improve your NEMT business by investing in our NEMT software solution to help grow your business? We’re ready to discuss how our software can make a difference in your business today.

    The Benefits of AI in the NEMT Industry

    The term artificial intelligence or AI has changed. In the past, the idea of AI was utterly science fiction, but now it’s becoming a science fact. There’s a good chance that you’ve used AI sometime recently. Saying Hey Google, Siri, or Alexa means that you activated the AI in the device you’re using, and they respond back to you as they were programmed to do. It may have been something as simple as finding out the forecast or answering a trivia question. AI has an even broader application when it comes to how a business can use it. Several benefits can come from employing AI in the NEMT industry. 

    Make Smarter, Informed Decisions

    One of the best benefits that come from AI is being able to make educated decisions. One of the features of artificial intelligence is that it can pick up on patterns in a business. So using AI for your NEMT industry means you can make the most informed decisions on moving your business forward. At first, it may seem that using AI with NEMT scheduling and dispatch software would only benefit large fleet businesses. Many small fleet NEMT services benefit from AI. By utilizing these tools from the beginning, they establish themselves a more extensive fleet.

    Auto-Scheduling with Machine Learning and AI

    Artificial intelligence and machine learning are valuable tools for many businesses, especially where discernible patterns are involved. For example, many doctor’s appointments, treatments, rehabilitation services, and other medically necessary trips are on particular schedules. You can use NEMT scheduling software to create an auto-scheduling feature that makes scheduling rides for regular visits easy. For instance, some rehabilitation appointments are set several times a week for several weeks as the patient goes through therapy. They keep this schedule to help with the healing process. Using AI-powered NEMT software, you can easily keep track of all of these appointments and have them scheduled in advance. Consider how long it would take a person to create this repeating several times a week appointment for several weeks. With auto-scheduling, this time is significantly cut down while allowing your staff to handle other patients.

    Demand Prediction

    Artificial intelligence can help you when it comes to staff schedules, along with when to perform maintenance on your fleet and other tasks. For example, demand prediction is where the AI can better identify times when your business is slower compared to when it’s busier. Often, the software can do this by analyzing all of the data that comes in over the weeks, months, and years that you use it. It can then extrapolate when you should have more staff on hand to handle the schedule and when things may be a little slower where you can focus on other aspects of your business. For instance, taking one vehicle off the road for regular maintenance on a quiet day is the best way to minimize the impact that a smaller fleet will have on your business.

    Demand prediction is also a valuable tool when it comes to your individual patients. Some doctors run a much tighter ship than others when it comes to scheduling. You may find that some of your return trip patients are ready much quicker to be picked up than others. AI can evaluate the time between the drop-off and the return trip to help with coordinating the schedule. Demand prediction also helps you determine when to increase your staff, service area, or grow your business in other ways.

    Route Optimization 

    It’s hard to argue with the benefit of route optimization from artificial intelligence. AI can evaluate the different locations and quickly come up with a route. Avoids problem spots in the road, all while helping get all the drivers where and where they need to be. It can create the most optimum route to help maximize the driver’s day and reduce wasted time on the road. Not only can it start your day off right with the best routes available for scheduled stops. It also quickly update the route when there are canceled or added trips in the day. It can often be harder to handle this type of disruption when AI is not involved. These changes in the working schedule would otherwise be lost time. 

    Autonomous Dispatch

    In many cases, you may find that if you talk with your dispatch staff that most of the scheduling they handle are routine and relatively simple phone calls that take time but could be quickly done autonomously. You could be saving time and money when it comes to handling these more routine dispatch scheduling needs by using AI. NEMT dispatch software can make a huge difference in your daily schedule. Of course, there will always be situations where something more complex in play will require a human touch. By sending the more routine calls to AI, you free up your staff’s time to handle these more complicated calls. In addition, it helps to make their jobs more efficient while helping your clientele get scheduled as quickly as possible since phone lines aren’t tied up on the more basic scheduling needs.

    Autonomous dispatch can not only make scheduling the initial call easier for more routine rides, but it can also improve the time it takes for a driver to be dispatched to pick up a patient after their appointment is over. One thing that never seems to change with healthcare is how quick appointments can often be much longer due to waiting times. It can be hard to keep track of when return trips need to be made for these patients. Autonomous dispatch through AI can help to streamline this process and work to reduce the amount of time that clients are left waiting for their return ride home.

    Bottom Line

    Artificial intelligence can be a powerful ally to have on your side to help your business grow and expand. Taking advantage of the AI’s knowledge and the way it views your business is a sure win. Your staff will enjoy the automation it provides, while your transportation clients will be pleased with your continuously improving service for scheduling and dispatch. When it comes to having the best NEMT dispatch software and NEMT scheduling software, you can’t go wrong with our product. Contact us today to learn more about how you can implement our cloud-based service into your NEMT business to capture the power of artificial intelligence.

    How to Start a NEMT Business? Things Every NEMT Owner Needs to Know

    The booming NEMT business is a very lucrative business opportunity. What may stop some from starting their own NEMT business is knowing what they need to do to get started. Learning how to start a NEMT business not only offers the opportunity for a better financial future, but you’ll be creating a service that helps your community’s often forgotten citizens: seniors and individuals with disabilities and medical conditions. Following these tips can help start you on your path to being your own boss by owning a NEMT business.

    Difference between NEMT and Private Transportation 

    The critical difference that separates a NEMT service and private transportation is often the transportation service’s clientele and destination. Individuals that use non-emergency medical transportation often require assistance that goes above and beyond. What can be given when using private transportation, such as taxi and rideshare services. For example, they may have medical conditions that make it complicated to ride in a regular private vehicle, such as being in a wheelchair. They may also require monitoring during the transportation, which a typical private transport doesn’t offer. In addition, they may have significant medical equipment, like a ventilator, that needs to be transported with them. Also, the typical destination for these clients is medical centers, hospitals, and other healthcare provider locations rather than any destination. 

    Points To Keep In Mind Before Starting A NEMT Business

    As this type of transportation involves medical transportation, several things need to be considered before starting your own business. HIPPA privacy laws are one thing that most private transportation services don’t have to consider. Still, when you’re working with non-emergency medical transportation, it’s something you need to keep in mind. Remember, the majority of the population that your clientele comes from will often need a TLC approach to their transportation. 

    Establish a Business Entity

    Setting up a business of any kind can be complicated, especially if you’ve never done it before. A lawyer, tax adviser, and small business expert can be great to have in your corner when you’re getting started. But, first, you’ll need to determine what legal status you want to use, such as LLC, partnership, or sole proprietorship. The status you choose can have ramifications on your business down the road. So it’s essential to understand what each means for your company, how you do business, security, and taxes going forward.

    Once you’ve created your business, you’ll have to file all of the necessary legal documents. Some of the documents you’ll need to handle include any certificates, permits, and licenses required by your location, as every area is different when it comes to a NEMT company. You’ll also have to sign up for an insurance policy for your business. You’ll need to have insurance for your vehicles, your company, and your drivers. 

    Make Sure You Have Enough Money

    Securing funding for your new NEMT business venture is probably one of the most crucial and scary steps in starting this type of business. It can be expensive to create a transportation business of any kind, but there are added costs involved in a NEMT business. Some of the expenses you’ll have with your new business include insurance, vehicles, necessary medical supplies, rent, software, and marketing expenses. Suppose you plan on hiring employees from the beginning. You’ll also have to budget for hiring costs, salaries, benefits, and other expenses from having employees.

    There are several options available to you when it comes to funding your new NEMT business. Examples include crowdfunding, finding investors, getting a traditional loan, dipping into your savings, small business grants, and other out-of-the-box options. It’s estimated on the high-end that it could cost over $300,000 to start your NEMT company, but there are ways to reduce that initial cost, such as renting your vehicles, working out of your home, or starting with only one van.     

    Choose the Right Location 

    The phrase location, location, location is cliche, but it’s a cliche for an excellent reason. To start a NEMT business, your location can be significant. You’ll want to find a location that’s centrally located in the area you’re planning on servicing if you’re planning on having an office and a depot. If you haven’t decided on your service area, it can be beneficial to determine it before you put down a deposit on your location. 

    Set Up Your Fleet

    As a NEMT business, one of your most significant expenses, especially when starting out, will be your fleet. First, you’ll need to invest in quality vehicles that can handle your clients. Then, once you’ve created your business, secured funding, and found a location, it’s time for your fleet. Some companies start with one vehicle and, as they build a client base, invest in more cars as the business grows, while others purchase several. However, no matter how many vehicles you start with, you must find reliable and safe cars. Supply with everything needed to successfully transport your clients, such as wheelchairs, oxygen tanks, stretchers, and more. In addition, it can be helpful to learn about the Americans with Disabilities Act to know about vehicle requirements to ensure that you’re compliant.  

    Pick the Best NEMT Software

    When it comes to your NEMT software, many business owners consider the price before thinking about anything else. The problem with that viewpoint is often that you’re getting what you pay for, and that could be limiting to your business. Rather than focusing solely on the cheapest NEMT software for your fledgling company, look at the different features that each software offers. You may find that it’s worth the extra money for a NEMT software solution. It helps you to streamline your business by maximizing your efficiency and minimizing downtime.  

    The Evolution of Non-Emergency Medical Transportation -NEMT

    One of the best ways to see where your business is going is by learning about the past. So let’s explore the evolution of non-emergency medical transportation and how it’s evolved into the necessary service that it is today. One common barrier to healthcare that has existed for many years is traveling to see a provider. That’s where NEMT comes into play.

    NEMT History

    While a person doesn’t have to be on Medicaid to take advantage of a NEMT service, the history of the NEMT industry is wrapped up with Medicaid. Medicaid, a part of the Social Security Act, was created to help protect individuals that traditionally wouldn’t be able to afford the best medical care. Medicaid is the health coverage available to seniors over the age of 65 and low-income individuals.

    In 1965, Medicaid was authorized where states would be responsible for ensuring that their vulnerable populations that required care would have access to transportation to get it. Hence, the beginning of the NEMT industry in its infancy. 

    A landmark court case, Smith vs. Vowell District Court Case, occurred in 1974. This particular case revolved around a patient with cerebral palsy. He was unable to use a private taxi service to go to his medically necessary rehabilitation appointments. Mr. Edward Smith’s class-action lawsuit against Texas stated that he could not afford the taxi service and wasn’t physically able to take a taxi even if he could afford it. The judge ruled in his favor and created a precedent for the state. To provide the right kind of transportation to and from medically necessary appointments. After NEMT services were recognized in this landmark case, there still wasn’t a set way for non-emergency medical transportation companies to run.

    First NEMT Brokerage System

    It wasn’t until 1997 when a NEMT brokerage system was created in Georgia. This NEMT broker, LogistiCare, helped reduce the state’s Medicaid account costs while helping more residents gain more accessible access to NEMT services. That was only the beginning as more and more states started to have brokerage companies created and more providers opened up businesses. The need for non-emergency medical transportation has not gone away as time has passed. On the contrary, as our population ages, life expectancy rises, and more individuals are on Medicaid, the need for these services has increased.  

    Working of NEMT Software

    When it comes to technology, innovations have not passed the non-emergency medical transportation industry by as these companies are taking full advantage of it. As the brokerage system in 1997 helped create a more formal process for the ride requesting process for clients, technology has been keeping up. The same technology that rideshare companies, like Uber and Lyft, use for private transportation services is also being put into good use for NEMT businesses. 

    Impact of Technology on NEMT

    Phone calls were the way that the majority of clients were able to have their transportation appointments made for them when they had medical appointments and treatments to get to in the past. Call centers were put into place by brokerages where the patient would have to call in with their information, and the operator would then set up an appointment for the driver. Today, much is still the same, but technology has created a more user-friendly way for setting up the same ride appointments.

    Tech-savvy individuals can use apps and computer programs to schedule their rides. Not only does technology make scheduling NEMT services easier on clients, but it’s also a huge benefit for companies. It’s a great way to create transparency for services, billing, patient privacy, and keeping track of the company’s overall data. This help us to find even better ways to serve their clients. In fact, this technology is continually changing and looking for ways to evolve to better serve the clients and the businesses that use them.

    Endless Opportunities With NEMT Solution

    Automating the process of a NEMT business through a NEMT software solution has created the optimum grounds for growth. One of the keys to growing any business is improving the service offered to customers. Your clients will always notice when things are getting better as it helps to make their life easier. There are endless opportunities for improvement when it comes to implementing a NEMT solution. For example, you can better schedule and track trips to optimize your driver’s time. Improve the amount of time that patients are waiting on their rides to and from their medically necessary trip.

    NEMT solutions also help to eliminate any issues that can come from billing. For example, by automating your scheduling, keeping exact track of mileage thanks to GPS tracking and other features. It’s easy to know exactly what to bill to Medicare, self-pay clients, and other insurance companies. NEMT solutions will check for errors with billing, help eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse, and improve payment turnaround time. 

    Future of NEMT

    The future of the non-emergency medical transportation industry has never been better. There is a growing need that won’t be going away anytime soon for quality transportation services. As more individuals are eligible for Medicaid and there is a barrier for transportation services for many low-income individuals, seniors, and other potential clients, NEMT services are necessary. Now is an excellent time to get started in this industry as it’s continually growing, and there is always a need for transportation services. If you have a NEMT service, it’s a great time to look for ways to level up your business, and the right NEMT solution can be the first place to start making improvements to beat the competition.

    The history of NEMT shows that the barriers to better care can be eliminated when solutions are implemented. Therefore, NEMT industry not only a tremendously reliable business, but also helps in eliminating barriers to care for individuals in need.

    Ready to see how your NEMT company can improve and grow through the use of our NEMT solution? Our staff is prepared to go over our cloud-based and ever-evolving solution for your business. 

    Benefits of Technology-Driven NEMT Solutions

    Non-emergency medical transport is experiencing a great deal of growth for a variety of reasons. Several of the reasons why include:

    • An aging population that wants to remain at home.
    • Medical conditions that prohibit driving.
    • The expense of keeping a vehicle when on a fixed budget.

    As the need for NEMT solutions continues to surge, many NEMT companies realize how important having the right system in place is for their success. So let’s dive into the benefits that come from implementing a technology-driven NEMT solution.

    Technology Evolution 

    Imagine how things were run before computers, smartphones, and many modern conveniences that we take for granted today. Technology has changed how most businesses operate, and NEMT businesses can take advantage of several benefits that come from NEMT software solutions available today that streamline the way these businesses operate. NEMT technology has evolved to make it possible for you to analyze your business, ensure that fraud is not occurring with your passengers and drivers, as well as improve communication among all the different parties involved in every step of the process. 

    NEMT Analytics

    Analytics has become a buzzword for many businesses, but that doesn’t mean that it’s something that will fall out of style any time soon. NEMT analytics provided by a software solution can be a powerful tool to have for your NEMT business. The reports and analytics created by your software can help you identify areas where your company is doing well and areas where improvements need to be made.
    For example, using analytics for your NEMT business can help you reduce wasteful spending and activities and identify areas of abuse by your employees. Analytics can also help you pinpoint what services are more popular with your members, what areas you are busier in, and so on. The data provided by your real-time analytics can make a huge difference in strengthening your NEMT solution run. 

    Fraud Prevention

    When it comes to your NEMT business, there are several areas where fraud can occur. You can have drivers that are committing fraud when it comes to them handling their duties. NEMT analytics can help you to pinpoint problem drivers and help you to address the issue straight on. For instance, you may have a driver that’s habitually late with pickups and drop-offs. The right NEMT software technology will help you to identify these issues.

    Another area where fraud is possible is when it comes to handling insurance payments for your clients that have rides that are covered by their insurance rather than self-pay. Insurance fraud can be a big problem for your business if there’s any potential evidence against your company. Using NEMT software can help you correctly identify which rides should be billed to an insurance company and give you peace of mind that all of your i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed. Utilizing the NEMT solutions means that your drivers will be tracked, and accurate mileage charges will be billed to the insurance. If your driver had to take a different route due to an accident, road closure, or other reason, the software could help to provide data that shows this reason for the increased mileage to protect you and your company. 

    Reducing Communication Gaps 

    More and more seniors and individuals that require non-emergency medical transportation are becoming tech-savvy. They want to be able to make trip appointments easily using a mobile interface. NEMT software solutions make this a reality. However, you can still book appointments for seniors and individuals who don’t have a computer or smartphone while allowing those familiar with technology to have the option and freedom to handle it over a device they are comfortable using.Your communication gaps are also closed when it comes to your staff. Your dispatch and drivers can closely communicate with each other thanks to NEMT software. Thanks to this software, there won’t be a missed pickup or other scheduling issues due to your staff not communicating well. 

    NEMT Solutions have changed the way that most NEMT services function for the better. It’s improved the way that clients can interact with your service, and their experience is better. NEMT services also see more straightforward ways to handle their scheduling, dispatch, and other benefits from investing in the right NEMT solution for their company. Ready to learn more about our NEMT services and how they can make a difference for your NEMT transportation services? Contact our staff for more details on how you can get started.

    Why You Should Choose Tobi Cloud For Your NEMT Software Needs?

    Software development should bring smiles to faces. When you have a genuinely remarkable piece of software, it just feels natural, good, easy. The team at Tobi Cloud set out to accomplish unique NEMT software transport in the non-emergency medical transport industry. Their accomplishment is now in the hands of many transport service providers. It makes it easier to grow their businesses, connect with clients, brokers, and deliver on their mission statement. Let us look at why you would choose Tobi for your non-emergency medical transport software needs.

    Focused Development Team

    Great software is the product of a development team with a focus on the wow factor. The customer priorities, what they find valuable, are what need attention for software to succeed. You need to build for your customer needs, create a partnership you grow over time. Tobi Cloud software development team utilizes their deep industry expertise to collaborate and co-create with customers daily.

    The features provided and addons with the agile development model bring competitive advantages. Tobi Cloud NEMT software will disrupt industries like non-emergency medical transport. It is these disruptions when you adopt them that can make a huge difference.

    Features That Set Tobi Cloud Apart from the Competition

    What are some of the features that set Tobi Cloud apart from the competition? The team is here to disrupt the non-emergency medical transport industry, and we do this with an all-inclusive solution. The solution brings together fleet management with real-time monitoring, a driver interface, price modeling, manual scheduling, and more. Let’s dig deeper into some of these vital differentiating features.

    Fleet Management, Including Multi-Fleet

    One significant advantage of the Tobi Cloud NEMT software is that you can manage one or multiple fleets of vehicles on the same platform. If you are a small non-emergency medical transport company with one fleet of vehicles, you can control the dispatching and everything right through the software. If you have multiple fleets or even multiple companies, you can manage that here as well. The software even enables subcontracting as well as the ability to set permissions in dispatching across fleets.

     

    Tobi Cloud Price Modeling for Immediate Quoting

    The sophisticated price modeling platform from Tobi Cloud helps you price faster and more accurately for each job. You can get to a granular level with a series of customization rules. These include the type of vehicle, day of the week, even time of the day.

    Pricing needs to be transparent and consistent. The software price modeling allows creating custom formulas unique to your company, your fleet of vehicles. When a customer wants a quote, you will use the price modeling to get them an accurate one on the spot.

    Making Use of GPS Technology

    Global positioning system or GPS technology can give you an accurate line of sight into where your fleet vehicles are at all times. When you want to know the location of your vehicles, you can see where they are on the current job, when the job began, when you expect it to end, etc.

    Drivers can make use of the GPS technology as well with the driver interface within Tobi Cloud. It enables them to understand traffic ahead and get information to get to the end-point fastest. If you need to make decisions on the fly as dispatch or as a driver, the GPS vehicle monitoring features of Tobi Cloud allow you to do so.

    Let Scheduling Happen Automatically

    Machine learning and artificial intelligence are at play with Tobi Cloud when it comes to scheduling. The Tobi Cloud software has a proprietary algorithm. With the algorithm, it will learn about the trip patterns of your fleet over time. The software will understand the average distance for a trip, length of trip, etc. Through this, it will begin to schedule transport jobs for you automatically. The software and its features allow for schedule optimization. Tobi Cloud lets you get the most out of the fleet and be prompt with each of your customer pick-ups and drop-offs.

    Filing Your Trip Attestation

    When you drive all day, it can be challenging to go back to the office and do paperwork so your broker will pay you. It would help if you attested to your trips to get payments. With the Tobi Cloud software, you as the driver and your patient can sign electronically when the job is complete. With this electronic signature complete, you can then transmit it directly to a broker. It will mean instant verification, attestation of a complete job. It helps you get paid faster and more accurately.

    Keep the Books Accurate

    The accounting side of the house can be a challenge for a non-emergency medical transport professional. You want bookkeeping to be simple, efficient. With the Tobi Cloud software, you have bookkeeping built in. When you finish a job, invoice generation happens automatically and sees transmission electronically. Claims filing gets done through integrations, as well as statements.

    All this gets handling with automation of accounts receivable and an insight into the aging of those receivables.

    All these tasks are administrative in practice and carry overhead costs. To increase your margins, you need to automate claims filings, bookkeeping needs. Trust the software and let it work for you. When you do, the results can be breathtaking.

    Open API For Easy Integrations

    Tobi Cloud has an open API that is easy to work with. If you have your own billing company, for example, you can work with that company. It can allow for integration between Tobi Cloud and the existing billing company. If you want to use what Tobi Cloud has to offer, that is fine as well. The idea is the power is in your hands as a customer. The open API setup allows Tobi Cloud to work with any provider, customer, client, system, vendor, etc.

    A non-emergency medical transport service provider needs technology to beat the competition. The days of being good with manual scheduling and organization are over. Even if you are great at those things, the administration time and overhead costs can be anchors holding back your company from growth. It is time to seek out a non-emergency medical transport software package, and Tobi Cloud is the front-runner getting your attention.

    Are You Investing in the Right NEMT Software? Check Now!

    As a non-emergency medical transport(NEMT) service provider, it can be tempting to get the first piece of decent software you see. Almost any software is likely better than manual tracking, scheduling of transport services.

    Your capital is valuable. It would be best if you had the certainty that the money you invest in the software will give you the return you expect. Are you sure you are investing in the right NEMT software? Let us dig deeper to have a look.

    What Makes for a Good NEMT Software Solutions?

    How do you measure “good” when it comes to non-emergency medical software solutions? There are a lot of options in the marketplace. It all boils down to the feature offering made available and the track record for improvements over time.

    A vendor may come out with a top-tier NEMT software but never update it. If they are not reinvesting in that product, the extensive feature set it came out with initially will run dry over time. It will become stale, and you will end up with an out-of-date solution. You want a solution full of features now and a commitment to add on components over time.

    Features You Should Be Seeking In NEMT Software

    What are some of the features you should seek out as part of your software solution? These features should help you complete the cycle of integration with the broker, scheduling, managing the trips, handling claims, billing, and more.

    Looking for software with an open API allowing for easy broker integration is critical. You want your broker to be able to connect with you to assign you jobs to execute. With software having an open API, integration is easy, allowing them to shift jobs your way automatically.

    Scheduling features must be plentiful as this allows you to see and manage drivers, as well as your fleet of vehicles. Having a line of sight into how open or full your schedule is over the weeks ahead can give you better planning capabilities.

    Once the schedule begins execution, trip management is also crucial. With trip management features, you can give drivers the most efficient way to get from one destination to the next. If traffic is ahead or accidents, trip management allows for a seamless diversion.

    The next step is billing. The cycle needs to conclude with the filing of claims with automation and the invoicing to patients using your services. When you have features allowing for automatic billing and receipt of payments, that can set you up to cut down on administrative costs of doing all this manually.

    Never Settle for Anything Less Than Ideal

    You never want to settle for anything less than ideal. If you are signing on with a software provider that does not help you automate your entire life cycle of a trip, from getting the job to scheduling to execution and billing, you are missing out on potential value.

    Take your time when searching for a software provider. Be sure that they have a suite of features and software as a service solution that allows for automation helps you net gains that outweigh the initial cost of acquisition. On top of that, have a vendor committed to adding on features over time utilizing the public cloud for delivery.

    Differentiators to Help You Beat the Competition

    What can help make NEMT software stand out in the market? Are there differentiators to allow you to beat the competition? The NEMT industry is full of competitors. You need to use technology to find ways to innovate, to stay a step ahead. Some software solutions, like Tobi, have features you may not know to ask for but can be a real differentiator.

    One such feature is the automation of rate delivery. How much time do you spend pricing out transportation jobs? It differs with all the variables coming into play. It will depend on the distance you need to travel for the job, the type of vehicle necessary, time of day, and more. Software that allows you to formulate rates, letting it do the pricing for you, can be valuable. Auto-rates is a feature you may not think about but should ask for, as it can allow you to price jobs on the spot and secure bookings with brokers easier.

    Do you have trip data, jobs complete, you want to import into your data hub? A lot of this happens manually. You may get jobs outside of the software requiring entry one at a time. It can be tiresome and opens the door up to mistakes. Audit-readiness import validations is a feature that can eliminate all of this.

    Reports can be powerful tools to give you data insights. Data drives performance, adaptation, alternations in what you do. When you can generate reports with pivots on data you care about, it can give you information to succeed. Data on the average distance of travel, timeliness of pick-ups, costs of fleet management all can be combining via report generation features.

    Help your patients, help your business grow, and choose a right NEMT software provider you trust today and into the future.