Cloud-Based Home Care Systems
A few years ago, the term “cloud” usually conjured up images of a fluffy white mass of condensed water vapor suspended fluidly in the sky. However, with technology being locked into a rapid evolutionary transformation, most folks now think of the term “cloud” as a sort of virtual storage space for everything ranging from music to photos, to complete web servers.
While the cloud is constantly evolving to suit practically every aspect of the vast Internet world, a specific variety of cloud-based software is changing lives for the better. The type of software being referred to specifically relates to the home care industry.
There are different types of cloud-based home care software available, each of which feature varying attributes, benefits, and of course, drawbacks.
What Features Should an Effective Home Care System Possess?
1. Mobile Compatibility: To put it simply, a good home care system will have the capacity to work with mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc. The pace of day-to-day life for the average person can range from mundane and ordinary, to absolutely hectic. For healthcare workers especially, the ability to view and edit schedules, monitor information, and record notes for other workers becomes a necessity. Mobile compatibility allows for these tasks—among others—to be done on the go regardless of location. Some home care systems (such as Hometrak) have built-in platforms for SMS and text messaging.
2. Scheduling: Many home- and health-related jobs still employ the use of tangible, paper timesheets. Aside from being an antiquated practice, the use of paper timesheets is inefficient, time-consuming, and prone to error. A good home based software system will possess the ability to create, manage, and edit timesheets that can easily be accessed by every employee (both workers and management).
3. Customer Relations: A good home care system will simplify all data regarding both clients and customers by systematically incorporating the information into one precise system. By doing so, workers can quickly and efficiently locate client records when needed. Moreover, by using a cloud-based platform, inputting and storing data becomes significantly more convenient while also reducing the possibility of a miscommunication error.
4. Invoicing: This area of home care is often filled with errors. However, newer home care systems feature built-in platforms specifically for billing and invoicing that draw data from the exact system that is used to record work times and notes. In other words, by incorporating all information into one system, the process of generating invoices becomes significantly more efficient.
5. Simple, User-Friendly Interface: The idea of “ease-of-use” is characteristic not only of good home care systems, but also of practically any type of software. It shouldn’t take a high-level programmer in order to access and use a program. Moreover, workers are significantly more likely to adopt a new program if it is easy to use and understand.