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How Homecare Agencies Can Start Putting Data to Use
As agencies have tapped modern software to innovate their operations, the promise of a treasure trove of information can quickly be overwhelming… if not leveraged properly. It’s one thing to have methods in place to collect data; it’s another to spend time decoding how to analyze that data in a way that enables you to gain meaningful, actionable insights.
We are still in the early days of the emergence of machine learning and predictive analytics, whose vast benefits are only beginning to be realized. That, combined with the current need to adjust operations amidst a pandemic, can make it hard to know where to start for home care leaders.
But we must start because the benefits of sitting inside those data reams are enormous. Understanding your data sources, and then figuring out the trends it is revealing, enables you to take a holistic view of your agency to ensure everyone and everything is looked after: office staff, caregivers on the road, clients, and the agency’s future.
There are potentially endless reasons why a home care organization could undergo a data-driven digital transformation – particularly those with an existing tech platform that is actively capturing metrics every day.
Equipped with data reports, your agency can:
- Make decisions confidently, enabling you to pivot quickly and stay nimble even during times of instability.
- Key in on the value you bring to clients and families, ensuring the priorities you set are consistently met.
- Ensure that it delivers efficient, customized services in order to stay competitive, keep clients and retain talent.
- Manage risk, as you gain an accurate picture of all your agency’s exposure to risk.
- Be fully transparent up and down the board, opening a window for stakeholders to view what’s working well and what you’re striving to improve.
- Reduce or even eliminate manual reporting, freeing staff for higher-value work, realizing new opportunities
- Realize newfound efficiencies when it comes to administration, even in the most burdensome areas
This is just the start – only within each agency can the data’s potential be mapped out. So that leaves one important matter: what’s the best way to begin making data work for you?
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They are spread across a slew of vital areas of businesses including the all-important client outcomes; referrals and client intake; supporting care workers; optimized schedules; visit verifications; and billing/payroll.
In addition, here are a few thought starters and quick tips to set you up for success:
- Know the outcomes you want: Effective data analysis begins by deciding which particular questions you need evidence-based answers to with regard to your agency’s operations. Begin by polling your teams and seeing where the most urgent question marks arise.
- Start simple: When you’re just starting out, it can be tempting to try and tackle everything at once, but to avoid being overwhelmed, first, try to analyze the bite-sized pieces of your agency that yield the most immediate returns on performance/bottom line/client outcomes. Analyze the data you already possess, that you’ve already been collecting. Learn to turn it around, comb through it, and harvest what you can before you start collecting new data.
- Embrace data visualization: Reports that feature data visualizations are powerful ways to drive home essential points with boards, payers, clients, families — any stakeholders at all.
- Determine how the change will happen: A key word here is “actionable” insights. Ensuring your agency sets forth analyzing data with a lens on what you learn will actually be implemented. While it may change with each question you are studying, the path to action should be reasonably clear from the get-go.
Helping our clients
AlayaCare has always put stock in the value of analytics. Our data exploration and custom dashboard features provide the tools and capacity to pull meaningful reports and insights to the forefront.
See how MedTec Healthcare used efficient data reporting for business growth: