The Future of Home Care: How Technology is Changing the Game

With an ageing population and elderly people favouring care being given in the comfort of their own homes, the demand for quality home care is soaring. But a major challenge facing the UK home care sector is high turnover of care staff and a shortage of available caregivers to meet this demand. According to the latest data from Skills for Care, the turnover rate for the homecare sector is 31.1%.

With this in mind, the latest cutting edge technology is set to play a significant role in shaping the home care sector in the future. Innovation and advances in technology have already started to help home care agencies to reduce their admin burden, save caregivers time and streamline their internal processes.

In this article, we’re exploring the future of home care and how new technologies are set to shake up the sector.

Cutting edge tech transforming UK home care

• Smart home devices have made an impact, such as voice activated systems used to control devices around the home, for example, asking to turn up the thermostat 2 degrees or arming a home security system. The most common devices feature voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri. These are not only used to control home devices, but can also be asked to play your client’s favourite tunes or launch an entertaining podcast episode.
• Automated medication dispensers and reminders can be handy to help your carers give oral medication at pre-set times. They can even track and notify caregivers of missed doses and provide 24 hour technical assistance.
• Wearable health monitors such as a smartwatch can continuously monitor and track your patient’s heart rate, oxygen levels and daily physical activity.
• Devices exist to monitor vital signs, such as body temperature, blood pressure and pulse rate, as well as detecting when a patient has fallen and needs urgent medical attention.
• GPS trackers can be worn to help caregivers, families and friends keep tabs on their loved ones whereabouts and usually feature an SOS button to be pressed in an emergency.
• Remote patient monitoring via medical consultations through video calls and check-ups via online messaging, could reduce the need for hospital admissions, as the person receiving care is being regularly monitored.
• Person centred care software can be used to personalise and tailor care plans, schedule care teams, keep accurate medication records, monitor and track visits from caregivers and keep the lines of communication open between clients, carers, friends and family.
• Robotic assistants can be employed for daily household tasks, such as automatically preparing meals and cleaning and hoovering around the home.

The Human Touch in a Tech-Driven World

• It’s a common issue for elderly people to feel socially isolated and lonely. According to Age UK, 1.4 million older people in the UK are often lonely. Technology can provide opportunities for them to interact and connect with their loved ones via video chats. As previously mentioned, voice activated devices can be asked to play music or podcasts on demand, helping to stimulate brain activity and improve mental health.
• We are not suggesting domiciliary care software can replace the caregiver role but it can help to ease the heavy workload and demands on your care team, helping to make their work easier, saving them time and minimising errors due to pressures being placed on them. It’s important to provide ongoing training for caregivers and the families and friends of the people receiving care in how to use home care software. This will encourage them to adopt and embrace the tech and get quickly up to speed with the essential features.
• The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and new technologies in homecare can throw up ethical concerns around privacy, security and the role of human judgement. AI should be used to make the work of your care teams easier and more efficient. However, there’s a fine balance needed between consistently using AI and maintaining that human and personal connection with the person receiving care.

Looking Ahead: Predictions and Trends in Home Care Technology

As ongoing research continues and innovative technologies become more sophisticated, the home care sector will need to adapt and keep on top of these trends. Some trends to watch out for in 2024:

• The potential impact of AI and machine learning in home care to analyse vast amounts of patient data, including medical records, lab results and digital images to help doctors to diagnose diseases and predict patient outcomes. AI-powered robots will be able to assist surgeons during complex operations, enabling greater precision and minimising the risk of human error.
• There’ll be an increased focus on mental health with an emphasis on detecting issues early, improved access to therapy and reducing the stigma surrounding mental health issues. Digital mental health platforms and apps are becoming more and more sophisticated, offering therapy, counselling and mindfulness tools.
• Advancements in genetic research and biotechnology is paving the way for personalised medicine. Treatment plans are becoming more tailored to a patient’s genetic makeup which can increase the efficiency of medications and reduce any nasty side effects or adverse reactions.

The Homecare Association (the UK membership body for domiciliary care providers) is holding its Annual Conference on 24th January 2024 to discuss The Future of Homecare. Leading reps from across the health and social care sector will share best practice, inspire innovation, provide thought leadership and provoke debate to help shape the future of the home care sector.

Advancements in home care software in 2024 are set to transform and revolutionise the home care sector. Although, there are inevitable concerns with the potential misuse of new technologies like AI, person centred care software is becoming more and more sophisticated, and home care agencies should embrace the tools that will help to make their businesses run more efficiently, support their care teams to care better and improve the quality of life for their clients.

See how some of our home care agency clients are using our all-in-one home care software solution. Email us for more information: howcanwehelp@tagtronics.co.uk