3 Advancements in Home Care Technology You Should Know About

Home care technology has changed significantly over the last decade. You don’t have to follow these changes to be in the know, because we’ve rounded them up for you. 

The features that agency management software programs offer are some of the most important advancements because they influence your day-to-day operations. 

Payments that move past private pay

Home care originally started in Europe in the 19th century, as a means of aiding individuals who were ill but could not afford care. Since its inception, home care has evolved to include various payment models. 

With the advent of computers and online operations, payment processing has been an integral function of home care software. Payment processing can look a little different between agencies, but that could mean: 

• Allowing clients to pay via credit card, ACH, and through authorizations or third-party payers like Medicaid and Long Term Care Insurance (LTCI)
• Accepting online and recurring payments 
• Robust analytics and reporting features that give you the low-down on what your agency needs to focus on 

Processing payment shouldn’t just mean taking a client’s money, but it also means providing care that meets their needs regardless of the payer source. A strong home care business solution should support multiple models of care services, giving clients autonomy and choice. 

This could include Consumer-Directed care (like CDPAP), virtual caregiver marketplaces, and traditional non-medical home care, something we like to call the tri-modal of home care. 

“At Caretime, we are pleased to give home care business owners control of their income and revenue streams. By opening up the doors to consumer-directed care arrangements and other models of home care, we’re excited to see our customers maximize their earning potential,” 
- Julio Barea, VP of Sales at AllyCaretime

When thinking about nuances of home care technology, remember how far we’ve come in terms of billing and paying for services and giving patients choices. 

Care plans that go above and beyond

Creating care plans that adequately address client and family member needs is a time-consuming task. With detailed but templated care plans, you can make sure that you ask the right questions every time for each new client. 

Paper care planning just isn’t cutting it anymore since they require manual updates and communication to caregivers as they change. It may be helpful to start your agency off with paper care plans, but as you grow and scale your business, it’s important to have a defined process and a secure place to store them. 

With the increasing interest in value-based care in the home, it’s important to have care planning and documentation features that are keeping pace. 

“Our clients are always looking for the latest in technology to stay ahead of the curve, and offering care planning features that ask the right questions has been a priority for us from the very beginning. From onboarding to billing, we want to make sure that the small details (which are really the big details) matter,”
- Julio Barea, VP of Sales at AllyCaretime

When thinking about the home care agency of the future, you want to be prepared for all advancements and changes to come. 

Make sure that your care plans are meeting the mark with families, clients, and caregivers. 

Reassurance that the caregiver is at the home

Let’s walk through the process a family takes to start home care. A family member recognizes a need in their loved one and starts calling around, and battling with the sticker shock of the commitment they could be making. 

Wrapping their head around a stranger coming around to their loved one’s home is an unpleasant feeling, but electronic visit verification can be one layer of solving the problem. 

Before electronic visit verification or EVV came around, families had to take an agency for its word on if the caregiver would arrive on time at the right house. Now, you have the ability to see when they clock in with GPS coordinates in real-time.

With late clock-in alerts, you, as the business owner can take proactive steps to ensure that the family is kept in the loop with communication. With clearly outlined backup care policies, rebuilding trust by sending messages out to available caregivers couldn’t be any easier. 

You don’t have to wait for a family member or the client to call you to let you know that a caregiver is late. The technology is here and ready for you to use and keep your business growing. 

“Electronic visit verification is a hotly debated topic in today’s post-acute care landscape, and we are working diligently to support care worker privacy while ensuring that families know that their loved one is not alone. Giving home care owners the tools to get ahead of no-call-no-shows is a powerful goal we aim to uphold,”
- Sr Manager at Caretime

Technology that keeps you in business tomorrow

Healthcare has traditionally been behind the curve on technology, but being in the driver’s seat, you have the power to make a different decision. 

Kirk Allen, Senior Vice President of home care at Humana shared that “[a]n important advantage of treating patients in their own environment is that it provides a window into their daily lives and the factors impacting their health.” Home care providers have the ability to influence the lives of many seniors and disabled adults in a positive way through safety assessments, socialization, companionship, and more. 

The best care can’t be done with caregivers alone - there needs to be a strong combination of touch and technology. Being a part of a home care team in today’s day and age includes some elements of technology, and companies are continuing to take notice. 

How are you going to implement technology to scale and grow your home care business?