In the US healthcare system, services are often tied to specific Client Authorizations (such as an insurance or Medicaid approval for a set number of hours or visits).
ShiftCare allows you to assign and track multiple authorizations per pricebook. This means you can manage an Initial authorization, a Renewal authorization, and an Amendment for a client all in one place. You can track the exact balance of each authorization and select exactly which authorization should be billed when creating a shift.
Adding Authorizations to a Pricebook
To link an authorization to a client's services, you must assign it via their profile page.
Navigate to Clients > List > select the client and go to the Billing tab.
Click 'Add Authorization' on the relevant pricebook row.
Fill out the details:
Funding Source
Authorization Number
Authorization Type: Select whether this is an Initial, Renewal, or Amendment authorization.
Start and Expiry Dates
Expiry Alert: Set a warning to trigger when the expiry date is approaching.
Authorized Amount and Unit: Set an amount and select Hours, Units, Days, or Visits (Days and Visits are only available for Fixed Price pricebooks).
Frequency: Set how often the authorization refreshes (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly).
Threshold Alert: Set a warning limit to be notified when the balance is running low.
Click 'Save'.
You can add multiple authorizations to the same pricebook.
If you need to remove a pricebook from a client, ShiftCare will run a safety check. If the pricebook is linked to shifts that have already been synced to EVV or invoiced, the system will block you from unassigning it.
If there are linked shifts with no invoicing/EVV issues, the system will show a warning and ask for your confirmation before unassigning.
Tracking Utilization and Overbooking
The client's Billing tab will display a summarized view of their active pricebooks and authorizations.
The table shows a summary of the current period usage, available balance, and expiry date. The system uses color-coded badges to show the status of an authorization.
Expiring (Red): Approaching its end date.
Exhausted (Gray): Balance has reached 0.
Low Balance (Yellow): Usage has crossed your configured threshold.
Active (Green)
Upcoming (Orange)
Click the down arrow next to a pricebook to expand it. This sub-table lists every individual authorization of that pricebook. The numbers here show the Total Usage and Total Available Balance across the entire lifespan of that specific authorization, rather than just the current period.
If an authorization is overbooked (meaning the usage has exceeded the authorized amount), the expanded view will show the overuse. You will see a negative available balance (e.g., -9 hrs) and a utilization percent above 100%.
Configuring Authorization Unit Values
If you bill using Days or Visits, you must tell the system how many hours equal one day or visit. This ensures accurate balance deductions and warns you if a shift is too short or too long.
Navigate to Account > Invoice Settings.
Click 'Edit' in the 'Authorization Configuration' section.
Set the hour equivalents for each unit (e.g., 1 Day = 8.0 hours, or 1 Visit = 4.0 hours). Click 'Save'.
Assigning Authorizations to Shifts
When creating or editing a shift for a client who has active authorizations, an Authorization dropdown menu will appear in the shift drawer. The dropdown will display the authorization number and its remaining balance. Select which authorization the shift should be billed against.
A percent bar will appear after you make your selection.
If you select a 'Days' or 'Visits' authorization and the shift you are creating does not match the hours you configured in your invoice settings, a red warning message will appear below the time fields. This is informational only; you can still save the shift.
When you extend a recurring shift series, the authorization linked to the original shift is automatically copied to the new instances.
Viewing Authorizations on Reports
To give your coordinators and payroll managers full visibility into how shifts are funded, an Authorization column has been added to key reports.
Client Shift Breakdown: Displays the authorization number linked to each shift.
Staff Timesheet: Displays the authorization number linked to each shift.
Both of these reports will include the Authorization column when exported to CSV.
For further assistance with Managing Client Authorizations (NA), please contact our Support team using online chat when you're logged into ShiftCare or email our Support team at support.northamerica@shiftcare.com.