Lumary WFM - This article explains how to create a group program for scheduling group appointments.
Group programs (previously called group templates) can be used to quickly add group appointments to a base roster or roster period. Using groups speeds up the process by prefilling information about the session, group members, ratios and planned services.
Groups can also be used when rostering from the Scheduling roster. However, less information is prefilled than on the base roster or roster period.
Required and supported packages
Available with: Lumary WFM
Updated in: Lumary WFM 2.7
Supported in: Lumary DC
This article explains how to:
Group programs can also be used to track attendance and bill under a program of supports.
What are programs of support?
Programs of support
A provider of group-based supports in the following categories can enter into an agreement with the participant called a program of supports:
- Assistance in Shared Living Arrangements - Supported Independent Living section
of the Assistance with Daily Living support category - Assistance with Social, Economic and Community Participation support
category, including supports in employment, or - Any of the capacity building support categories.
Under this approach, providers can claim against a client's plan for all agreed supports, whether the client attended or not, as long as the provider had the capacity to deliver the instance of support. Supports delivered as part of a ‘Program of Support’ are not subject to the short notice cancellation rules.
Providers can claim agreed programs of support against the related support items, using the typical pattern of support to determine the frequency of support within a defined time period, usually a week, which is then claimed as a multiplier of the unit price. This typical pattern of support, when recorded and agreed with a participant, forms the basis of the service agreement and the program of support between the provider and participant. The agreed program of support enables the provider to claim a regular weekly amount for delivering supports during a specified period, for no longer than 6 months.
Create a new group program
To create a new group program:
- Click on the Group Programs tab in the nav bar. This will open the Group Programs list view.
If you can't see this tab, you may need to check under the More drop-down list or click on the App Launcher nine dot grid and search for group programs.
- Click on the New button.
This will launch a New Group Program form. The fields on this form are explained in the table below. Mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk.
| Field | Purpose and use |
|---|---|
| General | |
| * Group Name | Give your group a name. This name will appear in lists when you search for the group and on rosters when the group is used to schedule appointments. It can also be used in the Group filter to find the group's appointments. |
| Group Start Date |
The date after which sessions will be held, or service agreements will be offered for the group. This field must be completed for the group to be available when scheduling appointments. Only groups with a start date earlier than the appointment date will appear in search results. |
| Centre | Use this field to search for and select the main site where the group's sessions will be held. Selecting a site here will include this program in the list under the Group Programs tab on the Site. |
| * Status | The status must be set to Active for a group to be available for scheduling appointments. |
| Address | If no site has been selected, this field can be used to capture an address. |
| Related Roster | This field can be used to select a specific roster. |
| Group Details | |
| Type of Activity | Use the drop-down options to select a type of activity. For example, community support or centre-based. |
| Description of Activity | Add a description of the activity. |
| Standard Duration | Shows the usual duration of the group's sessions. |
| Common Goals Related to Group | Can be used to capture goals that are common to the members of the group. |
| Group Limits | |
| Worker Ratio | The number of workers required to run the session. This will be used to set the Required Workers field when adding a new session using the group and will therefore determine the number of worker appointments linked to the session. |
| Client Ratio |
The number of clients that can be supported by the number of workers shown in the Worker Ratio field. |
| Required Worker to Client Ratio |
This field combines the entries in the Worker Ratio and Client Ratio fields to set the ratio of workers to clients required for this group. |
| Maximum Number of Clients | The maximum number of clients for this group. |
- Once you've added the key information for your group, click on the Save button.
This will create and open a new group program record.
Add a group member
To add group members to the program:
- Scroll down to the Group Members section.
- Click on the New button.
This will take you to an Add Group Member screen. The fields on this screen are explained in the following table. Mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk.
| Field | Purpose and use |
|---|---|
| * Client | To add a client, click in the search field and start typing their name. Select it when it appears. |
| * Group | This field will auto-fill with a link to the group record you're working in. |
| Start Date |
The first date from which the client will join the group. This is a required field if you're planning to add planned services. The group member will need to have a service on their service agreement that can be claimed within their start and end dates. For program of support clients, this date should match the start date of the earliest service agreement items which are billing for this group program. Clients can remain members of the program across multiple service agreement terms. |
| End Date | The last date that the client can attend sessions with the group. This field should be left blank until the client exits the program. |
If you're not adding any planned services, you can click on the Save button to add the client to the group. Planned services are not required for clients who are being auto-billed via a program of support agreement. Otherwise, follow the add a planned service instructions below.
Add a planned service
Planned services are the services included in the client's service agreement.
To add a planned service:
- In the Add Planned Service panel, click on the plus icon.
- Complete the fields as explained below.
As you make selections, additional fields will appear. Depending on the client's service agreement, fields may auto-fill or show a drop-down list with options. The fields you'll see may differ depending on:
- the services you select
- how your environment has been set up, and
- the type of funding you're claiming or invoicing.
| Field | Purpose and use |
|---|---|
| * Support Category | The options here are based on the support categories in the client's service agreement. What you select determines which services appear in the Service drop-down list. |
| * Service |
The options shown here are based on the services in the client's service agreement and the support category you selected above. For providers tracking NDIS travel and transport with separate agreement items, these will not appear as options in the Service field. You'll need to select the primary service related to the travel and transport. You'll also need to put a tick in the Travel Chargeable checkbox when it appears. |
| * Scheduled Delivery Ratio | This field captures the ratio of workers to clients for services that allow or require apportionment. For example, one worker providing a service for one client would be a ratio of 1:1. |
| * Site | The site associated with the service being delivered. |
| * Rate | The rate to be charged for the service. |
| * Funding Management | Options in this field will be based on the funding management types available in the client's service agreement. |
| * Claim Type |
The options available depend on the service you've selected and the claim types allowed for that service under the NDIS. Options may include:
Face-to-Face is the default option and should be used for any service not being claimed against one of the other claim types. When services with the Face-to-Face claim type are included in an extract, the claim type will display as blank. |
| * Delivery Method |
Sets the way the system calculates the charge for services
delivered.
Possible options include:
|
| * Quantity | Appears if the delivery method is set to Fixed Quantity. The units depend on the unit for the service selected. Enter a decimal value for the number of units to charge. For example, if the units are hours, for 15 minutes, enter 0.25. |
| * Selected Clients |
If a group of clients will be attending, you can select which clients to charge for this service. Only clients who have the service available on their service agreement will be available to select. Select the client from the Available box, then click the right arrow to move them to the Selected box. |
| Travel Chargeable | Put a tick in the checkbox if the worker will be able to claim for travel. |
| * Travel Area | This mandatory drop-down field appears if you tick the Travel Chargeable checkbox. Travel areas are based on the NDIS pricing arrangements. |
| Add Non Face-to-Face (NF2F) | Put a tick in the checkbox if workers will need to claim non face-to-face minutes. |
| * NF2F Minutes | This mandatory field appears if you tick the Add Non Face-to-Face (NF2F) checkbox. Enter the number of minutes required for the NF2F part of the service delivery. |
- Click on the Save Service button.
A summary of the service will be added below the Add Planned Service panel. To add more planned services, repeat these steps.
- Once you've added all of the required planned services for this group member, click on the Save button.
This will add the group member to the group and take you to their new group member record. Click on the Group text link to go back to the group program record.
Next, read how to create a group appointment.