Innovations in Home Care: How Technology is Shaping the Future

The Rise of Technology and it’s Importance in Home Care:

The delivery of home care was traditionally supported and managed using conventional methods such as pen and paper, or by the use of multiple different software platforms that integrate together.

Whilst using pen and paper can initially be considered a relatively inexpensive method of supporting care provision, when external costs such as time, travel and storage, are factored in, it can be quite costly in the long run.

Similarly, using multiple different integrated software platforms can be relatively inexpensive for providers, providing they limit the amount of money they’re willing to invest in purchasing licenses for the software.

However, like pen and paper, using multiple integrated platforms also comes with hidden costs, such as bespoke development costs, integration fees, and potential downtimes, which can be costly in the long run and can have a catastrophic impact on care provision.

In recent years, many home care providers have moved away from traditional methods towards a more streamlined approach with a singular care management software system that has a robust set of functionalities.

This move has been facilitated by the continuous technological advancements in care management software, with the aim of improving the overall care experience for both care providers and their service users.

Streamlining Client Data Management for Home Care Providers:

Modern home care management software comes packed with functionality, designed to streamline the client data management process for home care providers.

The software is often built around a centralised document repository, enabling care providers to digitally store client information, care plans, and any other required documentation on servers that can be remotely accessed by all staff in the organisation.

As the data is stored centrally, care providers are no longer required to carry around large amounts of paperwork from client to client, instead they can simply login to their carer app and instantly access any of the information they require.

Moreover, as service user’s data is stored centrally, care providers are don’t need to memorise every detail pertaining to a service user and their care plan, allowing them to do what they do best, providing excellent care.

This is extremely beneficial when a carer is unable to attend a call as schedulers can easily assign another carer to cover the call, knowing that the replacement carer will be easily able to access all of the service user’s relevant information directly from their personal device.

This ensures that all key care components and required tasks are completed in a timely and monitored manner, ensuring client safety and enhancing the service user’s care outcomes.

Modern home care management software also comes with robust medication management functionality, designed to keep track of the total amount of medication on a carer’s person at any given time.

Once the medication has been marked as administered in the care management system, it is then automatically deducted from the total medication count, eliminating the requirement for care providers to manually re-count their medication after each dosage has been administered.

Medication management tools can also be directly linked to the NHS database, providing carers with a full overview of the medication, its dosages, and potential side effects.

This allows care providers to identify any issues or potential adverse reactions that could occur when multiple medications are being administered and enables them to prepare for all potential outcomes.

Optimising Care Provider Efficiency with Advanced Software Solutions:

Most modern home care management software systems come with an extensive, highly configurable template library which is stored centrally, meaning it can be remotely accessed at any time by care providers.

This reduces the administrative burden faced by care providers when updating care plans as they no longer need to manually re-write every aspect of a client’s care plan, instead they can simply download a pre-configured template and update the required fields.

Weekly schedules can also be templated and stored centrally in the template library, and templates can also be automated to create efficient and error free schedules for staff, reducing the administrative burden they face.

To facilitate this, home care management software often comes with a drag-and-drop wallchart and advanced tag scheduling which are designed to further streamline carer scheduling efforts.

Tag scheduling assigns a percentage match between carers and service users, empowering schedulers to match service users with the most suitable caregiver, enhancing the quality of care delivered.

Wallcharts provide a full overview of each caregiver’s schedule and allows for coordinators to make real-time changes, with any changes being instantly communicated to the relevant carer, significantly reducing the time investment required as schedulers no longer have to manually type, print and distribute updated rotas at a moment’s notice

Carers can log into their app and view their weekly schedules, and if any changes to the schedule are made, they will receive an email notifying them of the change.

In recent years, the emergence of AI and machine learning in the care industry, specifically in the care management ecosystem, has opened the door for new advanced functionality to be developed to further optimise care provider efficiency, such as client note summaries, run-route optimisation, and time-route optimisation.

The AI powered care note summary functionality in home care management software analyses service user’s information, compiles all notes left on their record, and then provides the carer with a full summary of the clients care history and all comments left on their record.

This reduces the time investment required from care providers when updating care plans or doing handovers and gives schedulers more flexibility when creating weekly schedules as they are able to assign coverage from their entire pool of carers.

Route optimisation is a feature in home care management software that analyses the location of all the clients a carer will be visiting on a given day and will provide the carer with the most time optimal route for them to take to reach each service user, significantly reducing the travel time and cost for the provider, freeing them up to do what they do best, provide excellent care.

When incorporated into care provision, AI and machine learning streamlines operations, reduce the overall administrative burden on staff, and enhance service user’s care outcomes.

Utilising Technology to Ensure Fully Compliant Care Provision:

Nowadays, personalised care is a regulatory requirement established by the Care Authority Commission (CQC) in the UK and the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) in Ireland, with the Professional Record Standards Body (PRSB) setting out standards for what client information needs to be captured and how it is displayed once it is captured.

As a result, modern home care software systems are designed around PRSB and national regulatory standards and tend to have an array of functionality designed to transform the provision of care in the home, ensuring it is always fully compliant with the prevailing standards.

To ensure the consistent provision of personalised care, care plans are stored centrally allowing care providers to access and update a service user’s care plans remotely, with all stakeholders being notified of changes in real time.

Home care management software also guarantees the successful provision of key care tasks by prompting the carer with time sensitive push notifications at specified times.

When a task is completed care providers can be required to leave a note before they are able to mark it as completed, and if the provider fails to sign off on the task, a notification will be sent to all key stakeholders informing them of the missed event.

This increases the level of trust between service users and care providers as users are kept fully informed regarding their care, enabling them to become more involved with their care, which ultimately transforms their care outcomes.

Another key compliance requirement for care providers is ensuring that all staff are fully qualified and up to date with their trainings, which can be a very time-consuming process if done using traditional methods such as pen and paper.

As a result, home care management software comes with extensive reporting and dashboarding capabilities which provides management a full overview of all their staff and their relevant qualifications.

When a qualification is close to expiring, management and carers will be notified through email and will also receive a push notification on their mobile device, prompting the carer to begin re-training in the relevant area.

This ensures that all staff are full up to date with their training which enables them to provide a high standard of care to service users, reduce the time investment required from management, and improves service users care outcomes.

Moreover, as key care tasks are completed, home care software records the action being completed, which can then be compiled into a dashboard that providers can use to evidence their work during CQC/HIQA audits.

Home care software also comes with a pre-audit checklist that care providers can use to internally audit themselves prior to receiving an official audit by regulatory bodies.

As a result, providers no longer have to invest significant amounts of time into preparing for an audit, instead they can easily compile all of their auditable activities into a singular report which can then be given to auditors during inspections. They can even create audit specific logins to the care management system to give their auditors direct access to these reports and the associated data which can help reduce printing and admin time.

Embracing Technology in the Future of Home Care:

Traditional methods of supporting care delivery such as pen and paper, or multiple integrated software solutions are no longer a viable means of supporting effective care delivery, with many providers opting to move towards an all-in-one care management system that comes with a robust set of functionalities.

This shift has been marked by continuous technological advancements in the care industry with the aim of enhancing service users care outcomes, reducing the administrative burden faced by staff, and increasing business efficiencies.

Most modern care management systems come with a highly configurable template repository which can be accessed and configured remotely by care providers from any location at any given time, reducing the administrative burden they previously faced.

Moreover, service users’ personal information and care history are also stored centrally, allowing swift and remote access for all stakeholders.

Home care management software comes packed with functionality designed to assist care providers meet their respective national regulatory requirements, whilst also streamlining the provision of client-centred care.

The emergence of AI and machine learning in the care industry has further opened the door for the development of advanced functionality, such as run-route optimisation and care note summaries, designed to further streamline operations, reduce the administrative burden faced by staff, and significantly enhancing service user’s care outcomes.

Ready to revolutionise your care offerings? Book a demo with OneTouch Health today to see how you can transform your care offering.