Home Care, Anywhere: The Benefits of Home Health Mobile Solutions
Expanding care markets mean that seniors now have an abundance of choices when it comes to selecting their best-fit care provider. As noted by Home Health Care News, comprehensive home care will quickly become the “glue” that holds this increasingly competitive landscape together, especially as seniors and their families seek out providers that do more than check the boxes. People aging in place at home are now looking for patient-centric, personalized care that goes beyond the basics.1
In practice, home health agencies are encouraged to adapt to changing market demands, and ensure they’re on the leading edge of home care operations. The right mobile solutions can help make this possible. Here’s how.
Improves the Pace of Care
The number of seniors in the United States is rapidly increasing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were more than 54 million residents over the age of 65 as of July 1st, 2019. Plus, as noted by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), this number is projected to double by 2060.2,3
Combined with a growing preference for aging in place, this developing demographic creates a great opportunity for home care providers. But it also comes with a unique challenge. As demand for in-home care grows, home health agencies that are able to pair patient care with operational efficiency will come out thriving and not merely surviving.
For care aides and personal care attendants, managing an increasing quantity of scheduled appointments without sacrificing quality is key. Robust mobile care solutions provide a way for providers to view patient information and plan care visits before arriving, in addition to verifying their visit via GPS location to ensure regulatory compliance.
Enhances Care Aid Efficiency
Skilled Nursing News points out that chronic understaffing of long-term care facilities has created a reliance on temporary staff and overtime to fill the gap.4 Add in ongoing COVID concerns and it’s no surprise that home care solutions are now the first choice for many families. But home care providers face staffing issues of their own.
With aides often serving multiple seniors at multiple residences, their risk of potential COVID contraction — and the commensurate need for quarantine — is significantly increased. Here, accessible and agile mobile apps can help aides better manage their time with customizable “to do” lists, access to complete point-of-care documentation and the ability to add non-visit activities to their daily schedule.
Streamlines Administrative Compliance
Home care agencies must also consider the evolving role of regulatory and reporting compliance in successful business operations. This is especially critical as the number of patients per provider increases — even small documentation or reporting errors could lead to investigations, fines or even outright closure by CMS.
As a result, robust mobile solutions that offer cross-platform access to full medical records and integrated assessments are now critical to meet standardized reporting requirements for CMS OASIS documentation, and the completion of Consumer Assessment of Health Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys.5 While CAHPS reporting isn’t compulsory, positive survey results can help home care providers stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Put simply? Agile and cloud-based mobile applications can help home health agencies better manage administrative processes to reduce the risk of regulatory missteps and boost financial outcomes.
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Resources:
1 Home Health Care News, “Top Home Care Trends for 2021,” February 4, 2021.
2 Census.gov, “Older Population and Aging,” July 1, 2019.
3 ACL, “2017 Profile of Older Americans,” April 2018.
4 Skilled Nursing News, “Despite Vaccine and Occupancy Progress, Operators Report Record-High Use of Temps, Overtime,” April 19, 2021.
5 NAHC, “Home Care Regulatory Resources,” April 2021.
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