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As Home Healthcare Delivery Management gains momentum, we will continue to post press releases, case studies and articles about Ankota and addressing such topics as Home Healthcare Optimization, Distributed Care Management, Home Care SaaS, and the successes of Ankota's customers and partners.

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ANKOTA TO EXHIBIT TO THE HME INDUSTRY AT MEDTRADE – BOOTH 230

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November 15th – 18th in Atlanta GA

Baltimore, MD: Ankota looks forward to exhibiting at the MedTrade Conference and Expo from November 15th – 18th.  The conference will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

MedTrade Banner

MedTrade prides itself on “Connecting the HME Industry.”  Their conference, entitled THE NATIONAL HOME HEALTH CARE EXPOSITION TM continues to be the leader in serving the home health care marketplace by providing a forum to bring buyers and sellers together while offering educational development programs.

“Ankota’s solution is exactly what the HME industry needs at this time,” explained Ankota CEO Will Hicklen.  “Ankota offsets the extreme reimbursement pressure DME companies are facing by giving them the tools to increase their delivery capacity without increasing cost.”  Ankota’s software solution achieves this by providing delivery schedule optimization that saves the agency money in five different ways:

  • Assignments and routes are automatically calculated, saving each driver 45 minutes or more per day
  • Delivery routes are optimized, reducing driving miles, driving time, fuel costs and vehicle costs
  • Real-time changes to schedules can be accommodates with a drag-and-drop interface and simple tools to deal with emergency deliveries throughout the day.
  • Status is tracked in real-time, allowing back office workers to manage by exception rather than needing to follow-up on each delivery.  Ultimately this enables each back office worker to manage more field resources and can enable the agency to increase territories or product lines
  • The hosted solution with a growing number of automated integrations to inventory and billing systems eliminates the need for ongoing IT staff support

You can download an Ankota DME product brochure here.

Please visit Ankota at booth 230.

About MedTrade

Medtrade and Medtrade Spring are produced by Nielsen Business Media, a part of the Nielsen Company.  Nielsen Business Media is a full service event management company that professionally operates, arranges, organizes and sponsors trade shows, expositions, conferences, conventions and meetings for associations, corporations and government entities. Nielsen is also one of the world's largest leading publishing and information companies and has leading marketing positions in consumer magazines, directories and information services, business information as well as educational publishing.

About Ankota

Ankota is a leading service provider of innovative, technology-based software for home care management.  The company is a pioneer of next generation SaaS solutions for Healthcare Delivery Management (HDM), Private Duty, Durable Medical Equipment (DME), Physical Therapy and Home Infusion markets.  Ankota is committed to improving the quality and efficiency of health care outside the hospital setting.

Ankota's suite of solutions includes: "delivery model" optimization - automating complex scheduling requirements; telephony and web-based tracking of patient visits and health status; paperless trails for supervision and audits; billing systems integration; and accurate, real-time reporting.  Ankota's Family Connect, a secure web-based tool, ensures patient families are always one click away from knowing their relative's health and well-being. 

Founded in 2008, Ankota, Inc. is based in Baltimore, Maryland with offices in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas and Minneapolis. For more information please go to http://www.ankota.com/.

 

ANKOTA SUBMITS APPLICATION FOR SBIR GRANT

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Combining Peer Support with Disease Management to Improve Drug Addiction Recovery Outcomes

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND (August 9, 2010) -  Ankota, Inc., a Healthcare SaaS company, submitted an application to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Grant.  The SBIR program was created, in the words of program founder Roland Tibbets: "to provide funding for some of the best early-stage innovation ideas -- ideas that, however promising, are still too high risk for private investors, including venture capital firms." For the purposes of the SBIR program, the term "small business" is defined as a for-profit business with fewer than 500 employees, owned by one or more individuals who are citizens of, or permanent resident aliens in, the United States of America.

Ankota's grant application is entitled "Improving Peer Based Addiction Recovery Management through Information Technology." The premise of the research is that recovery from addiction is a long process that requires more than just addition recovery.  It also requires treatment of medical needs, and social needs to drive the lifestyle and behavior change that will ultimately lead to full recovery.  The approach combines peer support (such as  Narcotics Anonymous [NA]) and disease management techniques (used for acute issue recovery and chronic disease care).  This provides a framework for complete addiction recovery, but since it can take three to five years, automation is critical to keep things on track.

Collaborating with Ankota are the following:

  • Dr. J. Hunter Young, MD - Johns Hopkins
  • Dr. Maxine Stitzer - Johns Hopkins
  • The Center for Health Information and Decision Support (CHIDS) at the University of Maryland

Dr. J Hunter Young   Dr Maxine Stitzer    CHIDS UMD

Ankota's mission is to improve the quality and efficiency of care delivery outside of the hospital.  Ankota's commercial products are designed for home care agencies (private duty, home health, home physical therapy, home respiratory therapy, home infusion therapy, respiratory therapy, and medical equipment deliver including DME/HME).  This research extends home care to the new discipline of peer-based addiction recovery.

"It's exciting to apply our technology to leading edge medical research," explained Ankota Chief Technology Officer Ken Accardi.  "Plus we're confident that these models of care management will become both critical and prevalent when healthcare reform increases care coverage through Medicaid starting in 2014."

About Ankota:  Ankota is a leading service provider of innovative, technology-based software for home care management.  The company is a pioneer of next generation SaaS solutions for Healthcare Delivery Management (HDM), Private Duty, Durable Medical Equipment (DME), and Home Infusion markets.  Ankota is committed to improving the quality and efficiency of health care outside the hospital setting.

Ankota's suite of solutions includes: "delivery model" optimization - automating complex scheduling requirements; telephony and web-based tracking of patient visits and health status; paperless trails for supervision and audits; billing systems integration; and accurate, real-time reporting.  Ankota's Family Connect, a secure web-based tool, ensures patient families are always one click away from knowing their relative's health and well-being. 

Founded in 2008, Ankota, Inc. is based in Baltimore, Maryland with offices in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas and Minneapolis. For more information please go to http://www.ankota.com/.

ANKOTA TO EXHIBIT AT THE NAHC FINANCIAL MANAGERS CONFERENCE BOOTH 908

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July 14th – 16th in Chicago IL

Baltimore, MD: Ankota looks forward to exhibiting solutions that improve the quality and efficiency of the delivery of home care at the NAHC 16th Annual Financial Management Conference and Exposition (HHFMA meeting).  The meeting will be held from Julty 14th through the 16th at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers in Chicago IL. 

Ankota at HHFMA

While the mainstay educational topics of accounting, collections, and cost reporting are still prevalent at the conference, there is a growing interest among financial managers on how to improve the efficiency of care delivery, and Ankota is excited to share our solutions.  Some of the improvements that agencies can make with the assistance of Ankota’s technology are as follows:

  • Reduce the time that caregivers spend on scheduling, determining where to go, and driving, allowing more time with patients.
  • Coordinate episodes of care so that all services are provided and billed, and no equipment is left behind
  • Communicate proactively with Family Members to improve relationships and cut down on “phone tag”
  • Track care delivery for paraprofessionals via telephony and smart phone applications to reduce paperwork while increasing compliance and reporting

Ankota made its public debut at the NAHC 15th Annual Financial Managers Conference in Boston last July and has since grown rapidly. “This is a celebration of our 1st birthday,” explained Ankota CEO Will Hicklen, “We’re so pleased with the welcome we’ve received by the home care community and look forward to helping the industry thrive.  Our focus on improving the quality and efficiency of care delivery continues to make us unique among software providers, but as the word spreads, so does the value we deliver."

Please visit Ankota at booth 908.

About NAHC

NAHC is the nation's largest trade association representing the interests and concerns of home care agencies, hospices, home care aide organizations, and medical equipment suppliers. Simply put, NAHC is the one organization dedicated to making home care and hospice providers lives easier.

About Ankota

Ankota is a leading service provider of innovative, technology-based software for home care management.  The company is a pioneer of next generation SaaS solutions for Healthcare Delivery Management (HDM), Private Duty, Durable Medical Equipment (DME), Physical Therapy and Home Infusion markets.  Ankota is committed to improving the quality and efficiency of health care outside the hospital setting.

Ankota's suite of solutions includes: "delivery model" optimization - automating complex scheduling requirements; telephony and web-based tracking of patient visits and health status; paperless trails for supervision and audits; billing systems integration; and accurate, real-time reporting.  Ankota's Family Connect, a secure web-based tool, ensures patient families are always one click away from knowing their relative's health and well-being. 

Founded in 2008, Ankota, Inc. is based in Baltimore, Maryland with offices in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas and Minneapolis. For more information please go to http://www.ankota.com/.

ANKOTA LAUNCHES FAMILY COMMUNICATION TOOL TRACKING LOVED ONE'S HEALTH

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Family Connect Provides Secured Information for Home Care Patients

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND (May 26, 2010) -  Ankota, Inc., a Healthcare SaaS company, has launched Family Connect, an innovative software product that enables healthcare professionals and homecare agencies to provide real-time information to family members about their loved ones' health and well-being.  Taking as little as 3 minutes a week per patient, an agency can provide critical information directly to families - monitoring data such as activity level, state of mental health, daily routines, exercise, overall energy, eating habits and week-to-week changes.  Secured updates are sent via e-mail or text, to all authorized family members at once, whether they live close-by or across the country.  Family Connect includes the Quick Connect feature for instant, urgent family updates at any time.

Link to Family Connect Page

According to Will Hicklen, Ankota CEO and co-founder, Family Connect offers families much needed peace of mind.  "When patients receive at-home care, it is often challenging for family members to track the progress of their loved one in a meaningful way. What Family Connect really does is help relieve the anxiety and pressure from family members. They are receiving information about their loved one which can help them make more informed healthcare decisions," said Hicklen. 

Key features of Family Connect - it is instant and simultaneous.  It is challenging for healthcare professionals to keep family members abreast of health updates on their loved ones when schedules demand visits to other patients and tasks requiring immediate attention.  Family Connect affords home healthcare professionals the ability to reach out to multiple family members in real-time alleviating missed phone calls.  In addition, healthcare professionals are able to view feedback or questions posed by family members and reply to them right away. 

Added Hicklen, "We are the first healthcare IT company to offer this vital service to our homecare clients and we know Family Connect will make a difference in the services they provide to patients and families."

About Ankota:  Ankota is a leading service provider of innovative, technology-based software for home care management.  The company is a pioneer of next generation SaaS solutions for Healthcare Delivery Management (HDM), Private Duty, Durable Medical Equipment (DME), and Home Infusion markets.  Ankota is committed to improving the quality and efficiency of health care outside the hospital setting.

Ankota's suite of solutions includes: "delivery model" optimization - automating complex scheduling requirements; telephony and web-based tracking of patient visits and health status; paperless trails for supervision and audits; billing systems integration; and accurate, real-time reporting.  Ankota's Family Connect, a secure web-based tool, ensures patient families are always one click away from knowing their relative's health and well-being. 

Founded in 2008, Ankota, Inc. is based in Baltimore, Maryland with offices in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas and Minneapolis. For more information please go to http://www.ankota.com/.

ANKOTA AND FRANKLIN PRODUCTIVITY ALLIANCE ANNOUNCE MARKETING AND SALES ALLIANCE

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(Baltimore, MD and Moorestown, NJ) Ankota Inc. and Franklin Productivity Alliance LLC (FPA) announced today the formation of a partnership where FPA will market and sell Ankota's technology and services in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and surrounding areas. 

"We're thrilled to partner with Franklin Productivity Alliance," says Ankota CEO and co-founder, Will Hicklen, adding, "Their commitment to better organizing and managing health care delivery, and support of initiatives such as in Aging In Place & related technologies, makes them a perfect complement to Ankota."

Under the partnership, Franklin Productivity Alliance will market and sell Ankota's progressive Healthcare Delivery Management (HDM) technology and provide integration services and training for related technologies. 

"Ankota has organized healthcare into a highly efficient delivery model, allowing it to be better planned and coordinated. Ankota's technology is truly groundbreaking, cutting operational costs and dramatically improving productivity for the companies that deliver health care services, equipment, and supplies for patients in the home," says Dean Jester, President of Franklin Productivity Alliance. "Even the way customers access the technology is efficient," says Jester, referencing the Software-as- a-Service model through which customers pay only as they use it and access through secure internet, mobile and telephony connections.

About Ankota:

Ankota is the pioneering company in the field of Healthcare Delivery Management (HDM), focused on improving the quality and efficiency of health care outside of the hospital. HDM is a process-centric, technology enabled approach to managing the "delivery model," automating complex scheduling requirements and optimizing scarce resources such as people, time, equipment, and supplies.

Founded in 2008, Ankota, Inc. is based in Baltimore, Maryland with offices in Washington, DC, New York, Boston, Chicago, and Minneapolis. For more information please go to http://ankota.com/

About Franklin Productivity Alliance

Franklin Productivity Alliance LLC provides Go to Market services for technology partners for both Sales Preparation and Sales Representation. A unique combination of FPA direct services and Alliance member offerings provide cost effective productivity solutions that help end users meet their goals for efficiency and growth. For more on FPA please visit http://franklinproductivity.com/

ANKOTA LAUNCHES HDM FOR PRIVATE DUTY HOME CARE

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BALTIMORE, Feb. 9  /PRNewswire/ -- According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1.2 million people are employed in the Private Duty Home Care market and it is expected to add more than 400,000 jobs over the next ten years.  Ankota HDM for Private Duty was introduced last month at the 5th Annual Private Duty Home Care Leadership Summit and Expo in Phoenix.

"The Private Duty market is technology-starved, and there is a tremendous opportunity to help companies to better plan and schedule services while improving their profitability and accountability," said Ankota CEO and co-founder Will Hicklen. Suitable for both full and part time staff, with simple or complex needs, Ankota's Private Duty offer includes:

  • Comprehensive Care Planning
  • Scheduling and Resource Optimization
  • Telephony & Mobile Resource Tracking
  • Real-time escalation of Care Concerns
  • Work Tracking & Reporting
  • A Virtual Logbook for Distant Family Members
  • Billing

"Every company we talk to is concerned about their ability to grow profitability, and we can help that immediately," says Hicklen. 

About Ankota: Ankota is the pioneering company in the field of Healthcare Delivery Management (HDM), focused on improving the quality and efficiency of health care outside of the hospital. HDM is a process-centric, technology-enabled approach to managing the "delivery model," automating complex scheduling requirements and optimizing scarce resources such as people, time, equipment, and supplies.

Ankota's Private Duty offering adds to the company's suite of healthcare technology solutions, serving Home Health, Medical Equipment (HME/DME), Respiratory Therapy (RT), Infusion, and Private Duty. HDM solutions are integrated, scalable for small to large businesses, and available via subscription.

Founded in 2008, Ankota, Inc. is based in Baltimore, Maryland with offices in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Chicago, and Minneapolis. For more information please go to http://ankota.com/

ANKOTA ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF ANKOTA HDM FOR PRIVATE DUTY HOME CARE

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BALTIMORE, MARYLAND (January 18, 2010) -  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1.2 million people are currently employed in the Private Duty Home Health Care market and it is expected to add more than 400,000 jobs over the next ten years.  One of the major challenges facing these professionals is the lack of a comprehensive software solution that can cost effectively and efficiently address the specific needs of their industry.   Ankota, Inc. now provides a specific management system for this segment of the healthcare industry and they will be unveiling it at the 5th Annual Private Duty Home Care Leadership Summit and Expo taking place January 24-26 in Phoenix.  (They will be located at booth 21 at the conference.)

"Private Duty companies have been technology-starved for many years and we wanted to help them improve their systems and therefore improve their patient care ," says Ankota CEO and co-founder Will Hicklen. "Our packaging and pricing is suitable for both full and part time staff, with simple or complex needs, and addresses the Private Duty market with a scalable, easy to use solution that offers immediate return on investment." The package includes:

  • Comprehensive Care Planning
  • Scheduling and Resource Optimization
  • Telephony & Mobile Resource Tracking
  • Real-time escalation of Care Concerns
  • Work Tracking & Reporting
  • A Virtual Logbook for Distant Family Members
  • Billing

Hicklen added, "To thrive in this growing market, the companies with the tools to deliver operational excellence will be the ones who win. Every company we talk to is concerned about their ability to grow profitability, and we can help that immediately."

According to Bill Dombi, Esq., Vice President of Legal Affairs of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice and Director for the Center for Health Care Law in Washington, DC, "We are in a new environment that demands companies become more efficient and coordinate care better, with increasing levels of accountability.  We are excited about the emergence of new technologies to improve productivity in our industry and pleased to welcome Ankota to the 5th Annual Private Duty Home Care Leadership Summit & Expo."

About Ankota: Ankota is the pioneering company in the field of Healthcare Delivery Management (HDM), focused on improving the quality and efficiency of health care outside of the hospital. HDM is a process-centric, technology-enabled approach to managing the "delivery model," automating complex scheduling requirements and optimizing scarce resources such as people, time, equipment, and supplies.

Ankota's Private Duty offering adds to the company's suite of solutions that help companies plan, coordinate and deliver care outside of the hospital setting. Ankota's HDM suite already serves Home Health, Medical Equipment (HME/DME), Respiratory Therapy (RT) and Infusion. HDM solutions are integrated, scalable for small to large businesses, and available via subscription.

Founded in 2008, Ankota, Inc. is based in Baltimore, Maryland with offices in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Chicago, and Minneapolis. For more information please go to http://ankota.com/

ANKOTA INTERVIEWED ON RETIREMENT LIVING TV

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Baltimore, MD: Ankota CEO was recently interviewed by host John Palmer on Retirement Living TV (RLTV).  In the interview, Will talks about specific problems solved by Ankota, such as reducing the driving mileage and paperwork in home care agencies.  Will also shares how personal experiences with the care of his wife and mother led to the creation of Ankota.

"RLTV is a great resource producing outstanding content," exclaimed Hicklen, "we're pleased to have had a chance to share our message on their network."

About RLTV

Retirement Living TV (RLTV) is the only cable network dedicated to serving adults 50+ by providing information and entertainment relevant to their needs and lifestyles. RLTV's Emmy award-winning programming focuses on everything from healthcare, finance, travel, lifestyle, comedy, and drama.  Visit RLTV online at http://www.rl.tv/

About Ankota

Ankota is the pioneering company in the field of Healthcare Delivery Management (HDM). Ankota provides Home Care Software Solutions delivered via the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model that improves efficiency and compliance within Home Healthcare Operations. All Ankota solutions are designed with inputs from the home care community with the goal to provide better patient care in a provider-friendly manner. For more information, please visit www.ankota.com.

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