Regulatory changes and government policy are driving increased adoption of technology within home care settings.
Previously somewhat resistant to the growing trend for digital note taking and the use of smart technology, homecare services are catching up rapidly, according to industry insiders.
“Until recently the homecare market has not been impacted by many of the changes that have seen people demanding access to real-time information,” Paul Barry, executive chairman of everyLIFE Technologies, told BBH.
Until recently the homecare market has not been impacted by many of the changes that have seen people demanding access to real-time information. However, they are no longer immune to it, and it may be the first time within the homecare market that changes like this have happened as a direct result of customer demand
“However, they are no longer immune to it, and it may be the first time within the homecare market that changes like this have happened as a direct result of customer demand. They expect better feedback.”
Historically, the deployment of technology within the homecare market has been largely restricted to back-office functions – staff roster management, payroll accounts, and to produce efficiency savings within administration services.
Now the potential impact on frontline efficiency is slowly being recognised.
Barry said: “There is the potential to save billions if we start to use technology when face to face with the client.
“Currently, a care service may spend half an hour collating a new referral, the member of staff then visits the person in their home and may spend another 90 minutes taking notes. They then spend an hour typing this up back at the office, and then the notes need to be filed.
“This really does have an impact on workload, and ultimately on customer care.
“It is about making the existing infrastructure more efficient and technology can help with that.
“We are not trying to replace care workers, but it is about enhancing communication between staff and customers, and improving efficiency.”
everyLIFE Technologies has launched the PASSsystem to meet this demand.
Addressing the critical challenges faced by homecare services, the solution provides a secure end-to-end care management solution, beginning from the very start of an enquiry captured on the central system, to a full care assessment on a tablet, to the delivery of the care plan task by the care workers and the collection of care notes through mobile app and management reporting.
“The PASSsystem has been developed to drive staff efficiencies, reduce costs, and to reduce risk in relation to the provision of medication, initially in the home care sector,” said Barry.
“It is about using technology effectively to substantially reduce operational risk and improve care and care reporting.”
Using the PASSsystem, homecare workers can cut the time taken to complete paper assessments by around 50%, with no negative impact on care planning.
As well as speeding up care delivery, the system also enables more-regular checking of customer files.
Barry said: “Medication and healthcare notes are reviewed by managers every 30 days. If someone has been given the wrong medication or the wrong dose, it can be up to 30 days before anyone realises.
“This is no longer acceptable to customers and their families and systems like ours can deliver this information in real-time, supporting a transformational improvement in quality of care.”
It is about making the existing infrastructure more efficient and technology can help with that
Already used by around 70 homecare providers, the system is subject to strict protocols and information is held and exchanged securely via the cloud.
Barry said: “Once we’ve explained the rigorous data security measures we have put in place, all of our customers have been comfortable with using the PASSsystem. For example, we use the same protocols as within the banking industry, and the cloud server is a lot more secure than the one you may find in the office.
“The health service is beginning to embrace technology and the homecare sector needs to do this, too.
“We are using technology to speed up services and make them more secure and more efficient.
“We are seeing that the market is responding to this and we hope that this will see major improvements within homecare services.”
One of the organisations using the PASSsystem is Bluebird Care Shropshire. Owner, Ian Barnes, said: “Our aim is to provide a better level of home care to people who need help and support to enable them to stay in their own home.
“We started using the PASSsystem in March this year because we wanted to improve efficiencies in the completion of care assessments, supervisions and reviews, as well as improve the monitoring of care in the field with real-time feedback on medications.
“For us, the key benefits are saving time and money, being able to re-allocate schedule time to focus on more customer interactions by my supervisor team, and seeing improvements in the monitoring of care. Fundamentally, the PASSsystem has freed up time, money and resources where everything was previously operating at full capacity. These are all benefits that make my business more efficient and provide a differentiator from my competition.”
