BEATS Clinical & Field Operations Manual
Step-by-step operating guide for Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs), intake coordinators, and billing specialists.
1. System Overview & Capabilities
Core Clinical Purpose and Everyday Workflows
BEATS (Behavioral Evaluation, Analysis and Tracking System) is an enterprise clinical management, scheduling, and billing platform designed specifically for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) clinics, Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs), and behavioral health practitioners.
BEATS bridges field clinical delivery (direct discrete trial training, manding, functional communication training, and mobile touch caregiver signatures) with back-office revenue operations (prior authorization caps, unbilled session batch generation, 15-minute billing unit conversions, CPT fee schedules, and Medicaid progress reports).
Direct Clinical Notes
1:1 session notes, objective target behavior data, BCBA supervision logs, and real-time touch signatures captured on mobile devices in the field.
Scheduling & Limits
Weekly scheduling calendar, multi-location support (Home, Clinic, School, Telehealth), and live weekly authorization hour utilization meters.
Billing & Invoicing
Automated 15-minute billing unit conversions, CPT fee schedule rates (97151, 97153, 97155, 97156), unbilled session batching, and payment recording.
2. Public Intake & Prospective Inquiries Pipeline
Self-Service Portal, 7-Stage Workflow Pipeline, and 1-Click Patient Conversion
Prospective families, pediatricians, and case managers can submit inquiry requests directly through the unauthenticated /intake web portal. Intake records are automatically cataloged as Prospective Clients and queued in the clinic's Inquiries Dashboard.
Prospective Inquiry Workflow Pipeline
Intake Information Collected
- Requester Info: Full name, relationship (Mother, Father, Guardian, Physician, Case Manager), phone, email.
- Prospective Patient: First & last name, date of birth, gender, primary language.
- Service Address: Physical address (street, city, state, ZIP) where therapy may occur.
- Clinical Details: Behavioral concerns description, primary ICD-10 diagnosis (ASD, PDD-NOS), insurance provider.
1-Click Conversion to Active Patient
Once insurance benefits are verified and an initial assessment is scheduled, clinical staff click "Convert to Active Patient".
BEATS promotes the patient classification from PROSPECTIVE to ACTIVE, marks the inquiry as COMPLETED, logs the event in the Patient Activity Trail, and opens the new patient profile.
3. Patient / Client Records Management
Demographics, Medicaid Identifiers, HTMX Live Filtering, and Activity Logs
The Patient Management module serves as the central electronic health record (EHR) registry for all active, prospective, inactive, and discharged clients.
Calculates chronological age in real-time from Date of Birth (Period.between(dob, now)) with primary language tracking.
Stores Medicaid Recipient IDs (e.g. FL-MED-992144), private insurance carrier, policy number, and referring physician.
Instant server-side search by name, Medicaid ID, or phone without full page reloads via HTMX partial rendering.
Patient Activity Trail
Every change to a patient's record — including profile modifications, status transitions, intake submissions, and conversion actions — is automatically written to the patient_activity_logs table with the actor's username, role, previous value, new value, and timestamp.
5. Calendar & Scheduling Engine
Weekly Interactive Grid, America/New_York Timezone Handling, and In-Home/Clinic Tracking
The Scheduling module provides a full weekly calendar view for coordinating direct therapy sessions, supervision visits, and caregiver guidance across clinical staff.
Week Offset Navigation
Clinicians can navigate week-by-week using ?weekOffset=-1 or ?weekOffset=1. The backend computes the Monday–Sunday bounding dates in the America/New_York timezone.
Service Locations
Appointments can be designated for HOME (in-home therapy), CLINIC (center-based ABA), SCHOOL, or TELEHEALTH, allowing field clinicians to organize travel and materials.
6. Service Logs & Clinical Session Notes
15-Minute Billing Units, Discrete Trial Documentation, and Touch Signatures
The Service Log is the core clinical note in BEATS. It simultaneously records clinical intervention outcomes, verifies therapist presence, captures digital caregiver signatures, and computes billing units for reimbursement.
// Duration Hours Calculation:
durationHours = minutes / 60.0 (rounded to 2 decimals)
// Billing Units (1 unit = 15 mins):
billingUnits = Math.round(durationHours * 4)
Required Clinical Documentation Fields
Specific behavioral intervention modality executed (e.g. Direct 1:1 Discrete Trial Training, Manding, and Functional Communication Training).
Client engagement, trial counts, prompt fading hierarchy, reinforcement schedule, and target skill acquisition data.
Observed antecedents, frequency, intensity, duration, and replacement behavior prompt levels during the session.
Parent observation of token economy, behavior intervention plan review, and 15-minute debrief.
HTML5 Canvas Digital Touch Signature Verification
BEATS embeds a high-resolution touch-drawing canvas powered by SignaturePad.js. At the end of every therapy session, the field technician presents their tablet or mobile phone to the parent or caregiver.
- Touch & Stylus Support: Supports smooth finger drawing, Apple Pencil, stylus, or mouse.
- Base64 Data URL Storage: The drawn signature is converted to a vector-clean base64 PNG data URL (
data:image/png;base64,...) and committed to the database. - Legal Printed Name: Captured alongside the caregiver's printed name (e.g.
Amanda Miller (Mother)) to meet strict Medicaid audit requirements.
7. Invoicing, CPT Codes & Accounts Receivable
Batch Claim Generator, Printable Statements, Fee Schedules, and Remittances
The Invoicing & A/R module bridges clinical service logs with billing claims generation, statement printing, and payment reconciliation.
Standard ABA CPT Fee Schedule Rates
Fee schedules map CPT procedure codes to payer-specific rates per 15-minute unit:
| CPT Code | Service Name & Description | Clinician Level | Unit Rate (15m) | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 97151 | Behavior Identification Assessment | BCBA / BCBA-D | $31.25 | $125.00 |
| 97153 | Adaptive Behavior Treatment by Protocol (Direct 1:1) | RBT / BCaBA | $18.75 | $75.00 |
| 97155 | Protocol Modification / Clinical Supervision | BCBA / BCBA-D | $28.50 | $114.00 |
| 97156 | Family Adaptive Behavior Treatment Guidance (Parent Training) | BCBA / BCBA-D | $26.00 | $104.00 |
Batch Invoice Generation Workflow
Filter Unbilled Sessions
Navigate to /invoices/new, select the patient, and specify the billing date range (e.g. 1st to 15th of the month).
Select Sessions to Bill
Review the unbilled sessions checklist. Select all completed and supervisor-approved notes.
Generate Statement
Click "Generate Batch Invoice". BEATS creates official statement INV-YYYY-XXXX with exact line items, rates, and totals.
Invoice Claim Status Lifecycle
Recording Payments & Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA/835)
When an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or Medicaid ERA/835 remittance is received from the payer, billing specialists click "Record Payment" on the invoice detail page.
BEATS applies the remittance amount, calculates the updated balance due, records the transaction trace number in the payments table, and automatically updates the invoice status to PAID or PARTIALLY_PAID.
8. Medicaid Progress Reports & Staff Timesheets
Monthly Payroll Reconciliation, AHCA Audit Packs, and Clinical Progress Reporting
Clinician Timesheets (/reports/timesheet)
Date-range filterable timesheets summarizing every clinical session delivered across all therapists.
- Aggregates Total Service Hours worked (e.g.
84.50 hrs). - Aggregates Total 15-Minute Billing Units generated (e.g.
338 units). - Exportable for payroll processing and subcontractor compensation.
Medicaid Progress Reports (/reports/medicaid-progress)
Compiles comprehensive monthly treatment summaries filtered by client.
- Lists chronologically ordered session narratives and trial acquisition notes.
- Displays maladaptive behavior frequency tracking and replacement strategies.
- Includes digital caregiver signatures for complete AHCA audit compliance.
9. Clinical Staff Roster & Credentials
Employee Profiles, Qualifications Linkage, and Practice Scope
The Staff Roster manages clinical practitioners, technicians, and supervisory staff within the organization.
| Credential Code | Full Qualification Title | Clinical Scope & Responsibilities |
|---|---|---|
| BCBA-D | Board Certified Behavior Analyst - Doctoral | Doctoral-level clinical oversight, treatment design, assessment. |
| BCBA | Board Certified Behavior Analyst | Independent practitioner, program modification, direct supervision. |
| BCaBA | Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst | Delivers interventions under ongoing BCBA supervision. |
| RBT | Registered Behavior Technician | Paraprofessional implementing 1:1 behavior intervention plans. |
| LMHC / LCSW | Licensed Mental Health Counselor / Social Worker | Ancillary behavioral healthcare and family counseling. |
10. User FAQ & Operational Tips
Common Questions and Best Practices for Clinicians and Staff
timeIn and timeOut. That total is divided by 60 to produce decimal hours rounded to 2 decimal places. The units are then computed using standard 8-minute midpoint rounding via Math.round(durationHours * 4). For example, a session lasting 53 minutes (0.88 hrs) produces 4 billing units (1.0 hour equivalent).
/invoices/new). Select the client name and date range (e.g., 1st to 15th of the month). BEATS queries all completed session logs that have not yet been linked to an existing invoice, allowing you to select them with checkboxes to generate the batch claim.