Log my Care is a care management application that helps to streamline care delivery and assist care providers throughout the UK. The company has just launched a new Coronavirus monitoring feature with symptom trackers and free coronavirus resources to help the care industry adapt to the threat of Covid-19.
Ever since coronavirus started appearing in the UK, the care industry has been under increasing pressure from all areas. Care managers have had to shell out on expensive PPE and have faced challenges sourcing enough for staff members. Not only has the sector experienced financial burdens, but the pandemic has placed stress on staff numbers and increased their workload. Higher levels of staff sickness and additional cleaning routines and risk assessments place more pressure on an already stressed service. With more rigours checks of resident’s health, carers need to plan quarantine or isolation measures effectively for individuals and any coronavirus strategies need to be implemented successfully without compromising on the quality of care delivery.
The challenges of a pandemic are not the only difficulty the care industry is facing right now. Most care providers record and update their care notes and plans by hand on paper, at the end of each shift. This creates a host of problems that are amplified during a pandemic. Not only do handwritten care notes rely on carers remembering everything at the end of a long shift, but it takes a lot of time to update them or search through them. Time that could be better spent one on one delivering care. Paper care plans can be difficult to store securely (and often expensive to do so), complicated to search through, and when they are physically shared among carers it can encourage physical collaboration and could increase Covid-19 transmission. It is also easy for paper care plans to be lost or become outdated as they are not always updated immediately. This can pose a serious problem, especially when carers need to be able to track Covid-19 symptoms accurately or manage care delivery.
As care homes have been the subject of national lock downs and quarantine restrictions, it is likely that the challenges of both Coronavirus and paper-based care systems will remain. Quarantine measures and lockdowns will be a common feature of a pandemic world. Luckily, some of the challenges posed by paper-based care systems in a pandemic can be eased with electronic care management software.
After extensive research and drawing upon years of experience working in the care industry, Log my Care have developed a care management software and mobile app focused on carers. Importantly, it offers a core freemium software so care providers don’t have to face further financial commitments if they don’t want to. As an electronic software all the care records can be stored securely in the cloud and accessed from anywhere at any time.
Log My Care has been developed to fit seamlessly into the daily routine of care givers and aims to reduce the time constraints surrounding handwriting care notes. Using the mobile app, carers can update records whilst they are delivering care, and they can do so simply by clicking through relevant questions or confirming pre-filled answers. Not only is it easy to use and understand, it also eliminates the need for physical notes as each carer can use their own mobile to access care records. This means that there is no sharing of paper copies or smart devices, and notes can be accessed and easily edited in real time. The layout of the app is simple, with an iconised display that is intuitive and easy to understand. It means that carers don’t need intensive training to understand a new system, making the switch from paper to electronic care notes seamless.
It also enables easy collaboration of health services and various care providers from a distance. Where specialist care services and care homes need to work together to look after an individual, all notes can be accessed from different locations. The notes can be easily updated in real time so all carers can understand any changes to plans, making handovers and care delivery a lot smoother.
The care industry is one of the most intensely regulated sectors in the UK, and care providers are checked by the Care Quality Commission in line with the updated KLOEs. One of these guidelines is that care providers look to use innovative solutions such as new technologies to enhance care delivery. The systems like Log My Care allows care to be evidenced and managed more effectively. In turn that leads to accurate monitoring and improvements in care delivery. It’s no surprise that there has been a recent growth in new technologies like care management software, and during the current pandemic they are proving more useful than ever.
Log my Care has also introduced a free coronavirus monitoring tool[1] that can be integrated into individual care plans. It allows carers to input key Covid-19 symptoms such as temperature, cough symptoms, and even respiratory rate. All this information can be updated in real time and fed into a symptom monitor dashboard with visual warning symbols. This helps care managers assess the health of individuals and move forward with isolation plans with confidence. Log my Care have also introduced an array of coronavirus resources which are free to download, including contingency plans, care home admission guidance, and even risk assessments.
Care management software has given the tools to carers to help put people at the heart of care. Allowing staff to update notes on the go has lifted the time constraints of handwriting notes so that care is the main focus of their time. The introduction of a coronavirus feature enables carers to seamlessly deliver high quality care in the midst of a pandemic. It arms the care sector with tools that have been designed with carers in mind so that they can continue to deliver the very best care possible, whilst remaining mindful of transmission of Covid-19.
