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5 more ways of reducing repetitive tasks through home care software solutions
As Adrian Shauer, CEO of AlayaCare, expressed in episode 35 of the HomeHealth360 podcast “Home care agencies now have the tools to finally win the war on repetitive tasks.”
According to a survey conducted by Home Health Care News, 57% of home care agencies reported that they spend up to 3 hours a day on administrative tasks such as data entry, tracking patient records, etc. Home care providers who work in rural areas often must travel long distances to get to their clients, leading to added time spent on repetitive administrative tasks related to travel.
In our blog 5 ways of reducing repetitive tasks through home care software solutions, we talked about different ways organizations can use home care software solutions to reduce repetitive tasks and inefficiencies that can be costly in terms of time and resources.
To continue our discussion on ways software solutions can reduce these mundane tasks from slowing down operations and giving time back to providing quality care to clients, here are 5 more ways home care software can help reduce repetitive tasks for your business:
1. Streamline intake processes
Home care software can automate mundane and repetitive client intake tasks such as client registration, document uploading, and verifying insurance information which can save time and improve efficiency. This can also decrease the likelihood of human error, leading to fewer mistakes and higher accuracy. Streamlining these intake processes further leads to cost savings since it eliminates the need for extra personnel to take care of paperwork or data entry tasks. In short, streamlining intake processes promotes a more efficient workflow and better client experience.
“We have moved all of our paper processes in all of our forms into the system, which has dramatically reduced our intake time from 45 minutes to 15, as well as reducing the burden of assessment questions being asked to our clients over and over again.”
Emily Hope, Senior Manager, Better Living Health & Community Services
2. Automate clinical processes
Manual clinical processes can lead to a higher risk of errors in documentation and communication, which can lead to adverse events. Based on a report by the Joint Commission, it was revealed that human error is responsible for up to 80% of medical mistakes.
Home care software can automate these clinical processes to increase accuracy while reducing human error that leads to medical mistakes. These automated workflows allow for more time focused on care and less on repetitive administrative tasks for this frees up time for home care professionals to focus their attention on providing quality client care rather than manually handling paperwork or locating medical records.
“We would lose a lot of documentation and had a lot of missed charts, and now with AlayaCare, everyone has access online, we have all of the flow sheets, in chronological order, everybody can go back and see what’s going on, updated to the minute as to how the client’s condition is, whether its improver or deteriorating and adjust the care plan accordingly. So, it’s been really, really, effective.”
Cheryl Kearney, PSW Supervisor, Acclaim Health
3. Reducing paperwork
As we mentioned when streamlining client intake and clinical processes, home care agencies can use home care software solutions to help streamline most paperwork processes by automating operational workflows and administrative tasks. This is made possible by providing automated tools for staff to quickly enter and access real-time information about a client’s care plan, which reduces the need for agencies to use vast amounts of paper. Not only is reducing paperwork good for the environment it also reduces the likelihood of important client information getting lost, reduces the amount of time spent doing paperwork, and allows information to be updated in real-time all in one place ultimately increasing operational efficiency In short, home care software solutions can improve the quality of care while saving time on manual recordkeeping.
Acclaim Health was able to reap the benefits of reducing paperwork by implementing a home care software system, AlayaCare Cloud. They initially used 48K of paper per month and were able to reduce it by 90% of 4800 sheets of paper per month since they implemented AlayaCare’s Home Care Software.
4. Communication between staff and clients
Using software solutions can also enhance communication between caregivers and back office staff as well as with clients rather than resorting to time-consuming traditional methods like standard email and phone. Here are some examples of how software enhanced communication provides several advantages over manual calling or emailing:
- Messages are quicker to send and require less effort, allowing staff to spend more time providing patient care.
- Software solutions allow for easy tracking of communication exchanges and can be organized on a single platform. It also allows for segmentation so that messages are tailored to the individual receiving them, leading to improved customer experience.
- Software with messaging tools can also help ensure compliance with privacy regulations such as HIPAA.
Learn more about how HIPAA-compliant secured messaging within a home care software can ease the burden of traditional communication methods in our blog, Collaborate quickly and easily with AlayaCare Secure Messaging.
5. Providing transparency through a client portal
Most home care software providers offer client and family portals for home care which are an efficient, secure platform for clients and their family members to access up-to-date information about their care plan. This increased transparency between providers, clients, and families helps build trust in the care system. By quickly providing real-time data on progress and updates, staff can save time on manual follow-up calls or emails. Additionally, client portals streamline communication between providers by creating a single platform for sharing info and collaborating more effectively. In sum, using client and family portals for home care management can offer many advantages over traditional methods of communication and recordkeeping.
“Consistent and quality communication with our families is crucial. Our families need to know who is working with their child, and how their child is doing. Having the Family Portal allows our families to have easy access to the information they need in order to feel comfortable and have confidence in the care their family is receiving.”
Charles Wong, Founder & President, CarePros.
Home care software offers a range of benefits for organizations striving to eliminate manual, tedious, repetitive tasks. Its automated features can streamline client intake, clinical, and paperwork processes. Moreover, it can be used to enhance communication between caregivers and back-office staff as well as provide transparency to clients and their families via client and family portals. All in all, home care software is freeing up time for more strategic work and focuses on providing the highest quality of care to clients. Ultimately, the advantages that home care software solutions provide make them an invaluable asset that organizations should not neglect.
Here are 4 easy steps to help you get started and to help you know what to look for in software tools to help your home care business, we have created a detailed checklist you can download.
