Balancing Technology and Human Touch in Home Care

The Department of Health and Social Care’s White Paper: People at the Heart of Care outlines an ambitious 10-year plan to transform support and care in England. But putting people at the heart of domiciliary care means embracing new technology and digital transformation.

Over 70% of UK homecare agencies have adopted some form of technology to support patient-centred care. However, concerns are rising in the sector on how to effectively balance technology with the human touch.

Here, we explore why the human element is vital to maintain high quality, personalised and compassionate home-based care.

The Role of Technology in Home Care

Dedicated homecare software, remote monitoring, and telehealth have transformed home care, helping carers work more efficiently and effectively.

Technology benefits include:

• Streamlining processes and improving efficiency: Common admin tasks can be automated, like scheduling carer appointments, generating invoices, and calculating expenses.

  “The Tagtronics system is tailor made for the care sector. It’s not just another off-the-shelf product that’s adapted to fit. We needed a solution that could bring all of our systems – scheduling, note taking, HR, payroll – into one place to make it easier for communication across the whole organisation. It’s been such a time-saver, and the confidence it’s given staff will be really beneficial for years to come.” – Rory Jamieson, Assistant Team Leader, Cosgrove Care

• Saving time and money: Busy care teams typically save 20 minutes of daily admin time, and going paperless reduces long term agency costs.

  “We researched a number of homecare software providers and Tagtronics came across really well. The team were personable, approachable and the solution was extremely cost-effective.” – Lisa Slater, Financial Manager, Birchwood Homecaring Services

• Real-time updates and insights: Up to date and accurate information is at your carers fingertips allowing them to make informed decisions, identify trends, and deal with issues that arise quickly.

  “We used to use a paper system, where carers would handwrite daily notes and these would be regularly collected, reviewed and audited to identify problems. This took up a huge amount of time and by the time reports were collected and reviewed, any problems identified could be a month out of date. A digital system gives us the ability to respond in much shorter timeframes - you can see things in real time. If there’s an issue, we can pick this up immediately and talk to carers or service users about any problems.” – Dave Vincent, General Manager, Clarendon Home Care

• Remote monitoring and communication: Smart tools such as GPS trackers can remotely monitor care clients, and mobile apps keep carers, family and friends in the loop improving communication and coordinating care services.

  “The family and friends app has had excellent feedback from so many of our clients. The app lets family and friends stay in the loop with their loved one’s care, seeing their visits, what they’ve had to eat, the medication they’ve taken and general notes about how they’re feeling. It’s perfect when families don’t live nearby.” – Simon Lee, Operations Director, All About You Care Services

The Human Element in Home Care

With increasing use of digital technology and AI bots in home-based care, it’s vitally important to maintain the caregivers’ human touch. Technology can feel impersonal if relied upon too much, making care clients feel like they’re being treated by machines rather than humans, resulting in patients feeling neglected or less valued.

Some less tech-savvy elderly patients will need caregivers to bridge the generational gap and provide extra comfort and support.

The human element brings warmth, empathy, and person-centred care to the heart of what carers do. It’s important to train care staff not only on technology skills, but also on interpersonal skills, empathy, and cultural sensitivity.

Although we run a homecare software company, we still see technology as a tool to empower your carers to deliver better care and certainly not to replace valuable staff!

Patient-centred care

Patient-centred care is about providing personalised and tailored care plans that meet patient’s needs and puts them at the heart of what you do. Tech should help caregivers to support individual needs, rather than replacing human interaction.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) actively encourages the use of person-centred care planning software that fits around a patient’s needs, focusing on 5 key questions - whether your homecare service is safe, effective, caring, responsive to needs and well led.

The best homecare software should cover all aspects of managing your home care business and mirror the way your care teams like to work.

The key features to look for in a comprehensive system are:

• Personalised care planning tailored to each client. Digital care plans can easily be updated in real time and signed by a dedicated carer.
• Monitoring and tracking tools as standard for reporting on client progress and health status.
• Client and family access: it’s important to involve clients and their families in the care process, and smartphone apps can be used to view care plans and medication records.
• Medication Administration Records (electronic MAR charts) can be kept up to date more accurately as soon as medication is given.

Asking for Feedback

Home care agencies could consider introducing a feedback system for carers, care clients, family and friends using the technology. Getting valuable feedback from real users will help tailor services, to better meet individual needs and personalised care plans.

Homecare technology is not going anywhere and will only become more sophisticated in the future. We’d encourage home care agencies to embrace these new tools, but bear in mind the need to balance digital technology with the human touch, keeping patient-centred care at the heart of what you do.

As a leading provider of homecare software since 2000, Tagtronics have helped hundreds of home care companies to care better. By providing person-centred care software that mirrors the way your carers like to work, we’ve helped agencies to improve communication and efficiency, reduce costs, save time and streamline processes.

For a demo of Tagtronics all-in-one person-centred homecare software, call 01254 819205 or email howcanwehelp@tagtronics.co.uk.