3 ways to improve care management in home care 

Care management is the bread and butter of home care organizations. Improving care management within your home care organization can increase client satisfaction and quality of care, eliminate unnecessary costs by optimizing workflows and processes to allow staff and caregivers to deliver the best care, and overall increase the efficiency of the entire home care business resulting in growth.  

The number one most effective way to begin improving care management is by utilizing modern technology to increase the overall efficiency of your home care business. In our survey report on pain points and opportunities in home-based care, providers stated that lacking proper resources and technology were among their top 3 biggest pain points. These can directly affect the efficiency of care management for home care agencies.  

Here are 3 ways to improve care management by utilizing home care technology… 

1. Providing continuity of care with home care software 

Continuity of care is the connected and coordinated care that clients receive while moving between providers and through the home care organization. It is critically important in delivering safe, effective, and cost-efficient client care. 

5 key benefits of continuity of care in homecare: 

1. Improve accessibility and client care
2. Enhance provider communication
3. Reduce paperwork
4. Increase safety and quality of care
5. Better documentation

How can home care software help provide continuity of care? 

Home care software solutions, like AlayaCare cloud-based software, can be a great way to improve care management through continuity of care. Here are some ways that home care software can help: 

Improve accessibility and client care: Having easy access to all health records makes it easier for providers to develop their care plans. It also allows providers to quickly identify changes in the client’s care and implement adjustments as needed. Learn more about how to manage integrated care plans with AlayaCare’s Cloud-based home care solutions to learn more about improving accessibility in your organization with technology.  

Enhance provider communication: Care providers can easily communicate with back-office staff and their team regarding their client’s care progress and continuity, leading to better coordination and improved health outcomes. See AlayaCare’s Secure Messaging feature to learn more about enhancing communication with technology.  

Reduce paperwork: By streamlining most of the administrative tasks associated with homecare, such as scheduling appointments and sending notifications, providers have more time to focus on providing quality care. See AlayaCare’s scheduling and coordination solution to learn more about reducing paperwork at your home care organization.  

Increase safety and quality of care: Homecare software helps ensure that protocols are followed and that clients get timely medical attention when necessary, resulting in improved safety for the client and fewer risks for the provider. Read the Q&A with AlayaCare’s security and risk compliance expert to learn more about increasing safety with technology in home care.  

Better documentation: Digitizing documentation processes all aspects related to the client’s care, improving continuity of care and reducing the time it takes to document manually. See AlayaCare’s clinical documentation solutions to learn more about digital documentation solutions for your agency.  

“We were using four separate systems and AlayaCare allowed us to consolidate our needs into one. We now have one place for caregiver management, client management, compliance, scheduling, matchmaking for scheduling, payroll, and billing. The reporting functionality is lightyears ahead of what we had before and offers comprehensive reporting quickly”  

2. Automating management processes 

Automating care management processes in your organization can simplify administrative tasks and reduce paperwork. As mentioned in the tip above, providers can use the time saved to focus on the quality of care of their clients. Software solutions can automate processes like scheduling, billing, and data entry which can reduce errors resulting from the manual processing of information that could lead to missed appointments or inaccurate billing.  

3 benefits of automating management processes in home care organizations to improve care management: 

1. Reduction of administrative costs and time spent on repetitive tasks
   • According to a study by McKinsey, healthcare providers have seen an average cost reduction of 20-30% after implementing automation systems for managing their operations.   
2. Improved accuracy of information which eliminates errors due to manual processing.
   • According to a study by Berland A, Bentsen SB, automating processes in home care organizations has been shown to reduce medication errors by up to 50%.
3. Increased efficiency across the organization resulting in an optimized workflow.
   • According to HomeCare Magazine, home care providers have reported increases of up to 40-70% in operational efficiency since implementing automation to manage their operational processes.

What steps should my home care organization take to get optimal automation for care management processes with software technology? Here’s a quick checklist to get you started… 

Home care organizations can take the following steps to improve care management through automation: 

• Invest in modern technology that will enable them to automate processes and streamline operations. 
• Develop a roadmap for automating workflows and tasks in their organization. 
• Roll out automated systems slowly to ensure proper training for staff members. 
• Ensure data security by implementing appropriate safeguards for data access. 
• Monitor performance metrics regularly to check for improvements or areas of improvement from automation. 
• Implement regular maintenance programs to prevent breakdowns and improve system performance. 

Learn more about automation in home care by connecting apps and automating workflows with AlayaCare Connector. 

3. Caregiver mobile applications

Mobile applications are becoming increasingly popular in home care, especially since almost everyone always carries a cell phone with them. It makes sense for home care providers to utilize home-based care software with mobile applications to improve care management. With the use of mobile apps, caregivers can update forms, access important information, and more in real time.  

Here are 5 other benefits of mobile applications to improve care management: 

1. Improved communication: Home care software with mobile apps enable easier communication between caregivers, clients, and other home care staff. This allows for more efficient coordination of care services resulting in better patient outcomes.
2. Easier access to data and information: Caregivers can quickly and accurately record data from remote locations, helping reduce errors associated with manual or paper processes and allowing for quicker decision-making based on real-time updated information.
3. Enhanced security: By protecting data with appropriate safeguards, software with mobile applications helps homecare organizations ensure that only those who are authorized have access to the necessary information. This helps ensure the safety of personal and medical information of both clients and caregivers.
4. Increased efficiency: Decisions can be made faster since they enable quick access to records that are updated in real-time right in your pocket. This results in smoother operations and higher quality of care.
5. Tools for better care delivery: software with mobile applications can provide on-hand tools such as scheduling reminders, medication alert systems, resource guides, etc., helping them quickly respond to emergencies or provide timely interventions when needed.

See how caregiver Mitzi, from Live Life, benefits from using a mobile application while she works on the go:

See AlayaCare’s caregiver mobile app to learn more. 

Better care management in home care organizations can result in improved outcomes for both clients and providers. By utilizing home care software, home-based care organizations can ensure that their caregivers have access to the necessary data and resources they need to deliver effective client care which improves the overall care management of the organization.  

Interested to learn more about how technology can help improve care management in your home care organization?

Watch our webinar on 3 ways to supercharge your home care business in 2023.