As people are at the heart of home care, communication between all parties within the circle of care has always been important and is essential to provide person-centred care.
CareLineLive’s home care management software improves communication for a home care agency in several ways. The software operates across a Management Portal, a Carer Companion app, and a Family & Friends Portal ensuring that all the relevant people in this circle of care can access the right information for a specific client’s care.
“All communication between our carers and the head office is in real-time so we always know what our carers are doing.” Mirina Ndhlovu, AZ Caring Services
Cloud-based home care management software allows managers to work remotely and view what is happening in the field in real-time meaning managers can intervene straightaway if carers have any concerns. Additionally, using a carer app, carers are better informed as they can access their rotas, client care plans, eMAR (electronic Medication Administration Records), tasks, notes plus handover notes and any updates to these areas in real-time. This allows carers to deliver better care and have more time to care as paperwork is reduced. Also, client calls can be monitored as carers check in and out of visits using unique QR codes, so managers are always informed as to where carers are.
An important benefit for home care agencies using certain software is being able to access eMAR to deliver responsive and safe medication. With CarelineLive’s eMAR, carers are kept up to date of a client’s medication needs as changes are instantly updated. Medication information is logged for each client within the Management Platform, e.g. day, time, date, route, and side effects for each medication. This allows for continuous monitoring, recording medication given and alerting staff when there is a concern e.g. missed medication and the reason why.
“I access the eMAR sheets in the office, it’s so efficient as I now don’t have to visit our service users’ homes to check their MAR sheets and that medication has been given correctly. With CareLineLive, we can rectify any issues quickly. For us, eMAR has been the biggest feature that has helped improve our CQC ratings” Mirina Ndhlovu, AZ Caring Services. With paper MAR charts, errors could be missed for weeks.
Furthermore, a useful tool on the CareLineLive Carer Companion app is the ability for carers to upload photos securely, for example, of a wound dressing, to get advice if needed or to document the care given.
Transparency of care is important from several perspectives, both from a regulatory and compliance point of view but also from ensuring that family of loved ones have access to information about their care: securely and in real-time. Using software, data can help with compliance in terms of evidence of care delivered and using analytics to drive improvements within a business and the care delivered.
We also appreciate that during Covid-19, its been essential to support families where visits to the elderly are restricted. Software such as the CareLineLive Family & Friends Portal keeps families up to date and engaged as it allows online access to loved ones’ visit schedules and visit notes 24/7, providing peace of mind. This in turn helps home care agencies save time by reducing the need for phone and email updates to families.
Using home care management software results in multiple benefits by improving communication between all stakeholders within home care, with the ultimate advantage of helping to deliver better care to our elderly and vunerable population . To find out more please visit www.carelinelive.com
