What effect will technology have on homecare agencies in the UK?
For the homecare industry in the UK, the next couple of years will be a booming phase due to the rising demand. However, there are a lot of challenges facing the homecare industry in the UK. Technological innovation has helped homecare agencies cope with these challenges to a large extent.
Technological advancement or innovation shouldn't be seen as the ultimate solution for all the challenges faced by the homecare sector in the UK. As there are difficulties where homecare agencies in the UK can feel incredibly low owing to the low payment received for the domiciliary services they supply and the influence it can have on staffing and care quality.
Moreover, the homecare sector in the UK is also not the quickest to benefit from these technological advancements because of the financial pressures faced and the disparate ways in which innovation is shared across the UK’s care networks.
Nonetheless, these innovations in homecare technology have a huge impact on the care market in the UK because they help scale up the operation and make the business more efficient, even for small homecare agencies.
In this article, we will be discussing how technological innovations have helped the homecare sector tackle challenges.
1. Scheduling:
Scheduling software has become a boon to homecare agencies because it has helped them utilise their scarce resources to the best use and provide efficient, quality care. Software like Care Planner helps homecare agencies schedule their services. By acting as traffic controllers and coordinating carers, the number of clients a team can manage in a week can significantly increase. Technology that optimises schedules and routes for carers on the road can deliver huge efficiencies in transit time and travel gaps.
Currently, most of the scheduling software allows schedulers to quickly develop efficient schedules in real-time, with built-in GPS enabling carers to stay on track and provide quality care to clients without delay. Such software will reduce the overall time consumed in coordinating between the field care workers and office staff.
2. Administration:
For a homecare agency in the UK to expand, its back-end operation must be highly efficient. Relying on outdated technology, software, or even paper-based operations is time-consuming, but it can actually be useful in providing care to clients. Moreover, depending on such an outdated system can affect the quality of care services as the staff will have to spend time entering data, processing referrals, completing timesheets, reporting on compliance, and recording other key metrics. Thus, homecare agencies in the UK should start upgrading their administrative activities and digitising them.
There are various software on the market that can be customised to suit the specific needs of an agency, thereby streamlining all their administrative tasks. As the back-end office work gets digitised, effective, efficient, and fast, the time spent on non-productive tasks reduces and the quality of domiciliary services and support services will improve. This, in turn, will help the homecare agency attract more clients and earn a better reputation in the UK market.
3. Electronic visit verification (EVV):
Electronic visit verification is a technology used to verify that home- or community-based visits occur. The main purpose of this device is to ensure that domiciliary services are provided to those in need of care and that the care at home agency bills only based on the service they render. Moreover, such technology can help verify that home healthcare patients are not neglected and cut down on fraudulently documented home visits.
EVV easily becomes an additional speed bump to efficiency unless the right software is in place to seamlessly weave EVV into an existing platform. The key is real-time information, quick data entry at the point of care, and GPS-enabled EVV software that ensures absolute accuracy.
4. Human resources:
In order to implement efficient human resources practices in a homecare agency and scale its operation, upgraded technology has to be used. Modern HR software, sometimes known as human capital management, aims to simplify basic tasks such as granting holidays and training new recruits. Most basic HR technology will help keep employee records, track work hours and absences, and deliver performance feedback. Depending on how automated and upgraded technology is being used, some will handle scheduling without requiring any work on homecare agencies end.
Some software packages will also handle payroll, expenses, and benefits; others will still manage recruitment, onboarding, and training. Moreover, with such software, HR staff can pull key metrics or find coverage gaps in different service areas. Furthermore, HR software helps identify staff whose certificates or licences are about to expire, or under training.
5. Multiple locations:
For homecare agencies that are looking forward to expanding or are running businesses in multiple locations, cloud-based software solutions will bring transparency to every office and eliminate any risk of duplicating work. The right technology will work effortlessly across all offices, with the proper permissions in place for full data exchange. It will ensure that the streamlined back-end function is uniform throughout, and that information is updated and available in any office in real-time.
Clearly, the benefits of technology are being touted from the top down, and the influence on homecare has enormous potential. However, even though technology has a huge impact on homecare agencies and the industry as a whole in the UK, the sector will still need more care and support workers to deliver services. Though technology can't replace humans, it can help homecare agencies in the UK and care workers provide quality care. They can also help care recipients receive better care in the comfort of their homes.
If you are looking for a technology-driven homecare agency, contact Nurses Group Homecare. We are the leading homecare agency in the UK, utilising the latest technology to provide care services.