Airclic in The News
Home Health Care Aides Need Prescription for Efficiencies
Communication is vital to maintain profitability and effectiveness in home health care agencies. Home Health Line, the nation’s leading independent authority on home health care business, reports that up to 70 percent of agencies still rely on manual methods to track and schedule home health care aides’ patient visits. These methods would be much more efficient if they were automated with a mobile solution.
Home Healthcare Aides Get Mobile
The integration of a mobile application provides aides real-time job related data and gives management greater control. Mobile applications close the gap between the mobile worker and the electronic system where patient data and information on the visit is held.
Agencies and aides work together more effectively with mobile software. Case managers can create daily schedules and patient care plans so, while the patient is at home, the aide can access treatment plans through their cell phones, track care activities and update information in real-time.
Quality-of-care also improves. Long-term patients can have the same care needs for months and the aide may not critically review the care plan at each visit. The care plan is now pushed to the handheld device, forcing the aide to confirm a series of care activities for each patient.
Mobile solutions reduce paperwork and increase security. The application prompts aides to record trip start and stop times as well as mileage and expense data. The walkie-talkie feature enables provides an additional measure of security for aides in the field and an increased level of responsiveness to patients.
Agencies also gain advantage from the solution’s optional built-in GPS tracking capabilities, ensuring the office knows the location of every aide – allowing for dis- patching aides in a timely matter to patient emergencies or to adjust quickly to changes.
St. Joseph’s Home Health Care Saves $67k in the First Year Using Mobile Technology
St. Joseph’s Certified Home Health Care Agency operates in the greater Syracuse, N.Y., area. Bob Aber, St. Joseph’s director of information technology, and his team successfully deployed a home health management software solution that helped the agency realize $67,000 in savings in just the first year.
The company started by rolling out the technology with a pilot group over four- months. St. Joseph’s has since deployed the solution to more than 40 home health aides.
St. Joseph’s has realized a significant financial ROI and expects additional gains in both patient and employee satisfaction. Previously, the care plan was paper driven, completed by the nurse at the time of the admission. During a subsequent visit, a different nurse may discover new information, requiring a change to the care plan. The nurse had to remember to change the plan in two places. Now, changes in the clinical package are uploaded automatically into the aide’s handheld device.
Schedule changes have become streamlined. The team of aides is able to anticipate the inevitable changes caused by forces like severe weather.
St. Joseph’s savings of $67,000 during the first year of use was related directly to the two-way data communication that the solution delivers. With reduced reimbursements and skyrocketing costs, no agency can thrive without aligning the office and field staff. By providing a platform for connected care, agencies improve profitability, patient care and employee satisfaction.
Rick Pontin is the CEO of Airclic and has over 25 years of senior-level experience in telecommunications technology. Based in Trevose, PA, Airclic is a global provider of soft- ware products that improve the performance of an organization’s mobile supply chain, logistics and field services operations. The Company serves more than 500 customers worldwide.
