GiftRAP Has a New Name!

With a name like GiftRAP, we have always had plenty to explain when we meet new customers. If you don't already know, the name came from the fact that our company got its start in sub-acute care by developing a resident assessment system for skilled nursing facilities in the late 1980s. A major component of a resident's assessment were the Resident Assessment Protocols which were affectionately known as the RAPs within the nursing home community for over 20 years. Our product (and our company) got its name by being a "Gift" to nurses that had to complete the complex task of working RAPs on their residents.

As time went on, our company became more involved in therapy management than resident assessments. Eventually, we made a strategic decision to stop developing resident assessment applications in favor of focusing our efforts on the best therapy application in the industry. We wanted to be known as innovators, and we recognized that we could do a much better job by focusing in a specific area where there was the most need from the nursing home community.

By 2010, we had successfully transitioned all of our resident assessment system customers to PointClickCare, our premier partner in serving sub-acute healthcare providers. Additionally, the RAPS were replaced by the CAAs in 2010, so the use of the word RAP in our name had become completely out of date.

We saw the need for a new name to better reflect the products and services we deliver to our customers, and we quickly identified "Optima" as a name that well represents what we do. Therefore, on September 1st, we officially changed our name from GiftRAP to Optima Healthcare Solutions. You can learn more about this name change at http://www.optimahcs.com!

Expanding Development Capacity

We had our annual meeting at GiftRAP a few weeks ago, and we introduced our first employees that have been hired to work in our new Atlanta office! GiftRAP began investigating additional locations in early 2010, so that we could expand our capacity to develop great new features for our customers. The finalists were Charlotte, NC and Alpharetta, GA. After completing additional research, we concluded that Alapharetta had the most amount of development talent to draw from. Additionally, our data center is located in Atlanta, and it is easily accessible (1.5 hour flight) from West Palm Beach (our home airport in Florida) and just about anywhere else in North America.

We continue to be committed to keeping our development onshore, and we also believe strongly in keeping development teams located together, as it enhances team collaboration which leads to the highest quality development. In order to stay true to this commitment and to also continue building on the capacity to develop new features, we are committed to building two complete development teams (10 - 12 employees) in the Alpharetta office in 2011. These new teams will focus on extending our mobile platform and delivering on the great ideas that come in through our ROX Ideas website.

We look forward to our new team members adding to the innovative features in ROX!

Rehab Optima goes Mobile!

Rehab Optima is in alignment with the APTA"s initiative to be mobile for the 2011 Combined Sections Meeting! Rehab Optima Mobile is currently in test phase, and through its many features, promises to increase time efficiency, improve data accuracy and enhance the overall patient-therapist experience. The APTA's combined sections meeting is February 9 – 13th in New Orleans, and promises to offer exceptional programming, accessible through their mobile application, and an exhibit hall filled with innovative products, much like that of Rehab Optima Mobile. We are excited to be participating in this year’s conference and hope you stop by for a sneak peak!

Development Update

Regulatory changes from CMS specific to the LTC industry have slowed down markedly, which has freed up our Rehab Optima development teams to re-focus on functionality enhancements and additional products that will provide the most value to our customers! Key initiatives that are just around the corner from testing and delivery include Phase 1 of Advanced Scheduling, Direct Bill and Electronic signatures for Advanced Clinical.

NASL...Hope to see you there!

Barring any winter storm cancellations this year, several team members will be representing GiftRAP at the 2011 NASL Winter Conference next week in Arlington, Virginia. Successful health information exchange is a core theme for the conference agenda, which as you know, is right up our alley. NASL will be hosting guest speakers from key members of CMS committees, Certification Commission for Health Information Technology, AHCA, National Center for Assisted Living and MedPAC. We are exciting to be participating and hope to see you there!

Gifts from GiftRAP!

While CMS was busy this summer and fall providing guidance and instruction for MDS 3.0 implementation, the GiftRAP Implementations Team, under the guidance of Kathleen Amidon, our Training Manager, was busy creating Rehab Optima instruction materials. We want all of you to be as independent as possible with Rehab Optima functionality and product module enhancements!

Several webinars have been created, with time efficiency in mind, intended to easily guide users to complete Payer Changes, Move Tracks/Services, Prevent Duplication of Patients, Use Reports and Utilize Help Files and Videos. Additionally, reading materials with the focus of “A Day in the Life” of a Rehab Manager and Therapist were created and distributed. We’ve also created and updated Rehab Optima videos! Check them out – they’ve been added to the help link in your button bar in Rehab Optima.

If you have not already taken advantage of these webinars, training cheatsheets or videos, please contact support@giftrapcorp.com for further information.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

The Rehab Optima teams are busy completing CMS-driven end of year updates, e.g., Physician Fee Schedules, CCI Edits, additions to Part B Cap Management and updating the therapy cap amount to $1870...Rehab Optima has you prepared for 2011!