ABA Scheduling: Session Types
Scheduling is one of the most complicated tasks within larger ABA practices. The CodeMetro team delves into one aspect of ABA scheduling; session types and their unique scheduling needs in this article.
This is just one topic we discuss in our latest white paper: A Scheduling Guide for Larger ABA Practices. This free resource is yours to download!
Types of ABA Therapy Sessions
There are different types of ABA therapy sessions and practices; all face specific scheduling needs and challenges.
In-home Appointments
ABA providers who have staff traveling in and out of client homes face unique challenges when scheduling. For many providers, some of these challenges include:
- Matching the best clinician to the client
- Tracking payroll hours for overtime
- Allowing time for mandated breaks & lunches for hourly employees on the go
- Forgetting to calculate drive times & mileage
- Clients not being home when therapists arrive for a session
- Prior authorizations validated for services scheduled
- Staff members radius of travel between appointments
- Signature collection
Treatment Centers / Offices
Some client sessions are scheduled at an ABA practice’s center(s). With treatment centers and offices, scheduling is challenging because there are multiple staff and multiple clients all in the building at the same time. Because of this, the calendar must be scheduled perfectly to make sure everything runs like a well-oiled machine. Common scheduling challenges and needs for treatment centers/offices include:
- Overlapping schedules (client sessions with training, supervision time, staff meetings, etc.)
- Prior authorization management
- Types of services rendered
- Unit tracking within authorizations
- Consistency of the therapist’s schedule
- Staff, supervision, and training meetings
- Matching the correct therapist to the client (appropriate licensure, etc.)
Telehealth Appointments
While in-home or in-center sessions are the norms in ABA therapy, some practices have moved into telehealth options for some types of appointments. Family training, speech therapy, and other sessions may be administered through a telehealth portal. With this move into the digital age came a new set of scheduling challenges. These include scheduling training for the software, making sure clients know how to access appointments, and utilizing time during sessions.
School District Contracts
For ABA providers contracted for K-12 school work (as opposed to school district employees), essential scheduling needs are unique. Their concerns include tracking classroom hours, tracking what services were rendered and for how long, recording what location they were at, and mileage tracking (if traveling between multiple schools within a district).
Multi Center/ Multi City or County ABA Practices
For multi-center, city, country, and practice facilities, scheduling can feel like a beast. If each location has consistent staff, they might be in charge of independently organizing their own schedule. In contrast, providers that move between locations need to easily track where they rendered services and where they are to go next; if facilities have multiple locations across state lines, credentials for insurance and licensing need to be considered.
Ultimately, Every ABA practice faces similar and unique challenges that need to be addressed in order for them to effectively care for their clients and protect their bottom line. Want to learn more about how automated scheduling tools can help your practice manage all the scheduling challenges you face? Download our scheduling whitepaper below!
Download the Complete ABA Scheduling Guide
