Digital care plans - everything you need to know

When care plans are stored on a central database and accessed via software (which is just a techy way of saying digitised) not only are they safely stored on the cloud but they're kept smart. There's a whole new world of opportunity for the care industry when it comes to digital care plans.

What are digital care plans?

Most carers spend their time away from the office or nurse-station and out on the floor delivering 1-2-1 care to the individuals they look after. When they have to spend time writing up their care notes on paper, it takes attention and focus away from delivering high-quality care to residents. Digital care plans offer an on the go, quick and easy solution to recording care notes and accessing residents' care plans. It's effectively a digitised version of your typical paper notes that can be accessed via a mobile app and care home software.

What can they do differently to paper ones?

Apart from the obvious difference that digital care plans are accessible via electronic devices, there are some really clever features that make digital care plans a lot easier and smarter to use than paper ones. With all the time spent writing up notes and trying to remember what you've done in the day, it can be easy to get bogged down in paperwork and reduce quality of care for residents. Digital care plans and the software involved, help to overcome this with iconised buttons and the ability to tick off to do lists, cutting the time spent writing out notes or care plans and freeing carer time up to spend with residents.

Digital care plans also record everything in a clear and easy to read format (so you don't have to struggle with spelling, grammar, or bad handwriting). The care plans can also be accessed on the move, so you can cut time spent sifting through paperwork or sat at a desk.

How are they used in care homes?

We think one of the best things about digital care plans is that they can easily be tailored to individual residents. Software such as Log My Care can be personalised to individuals, but also allows managers to have an insight to care across the whole home. Care plans can be accessed and edited in real time and relevant tasks can be distributed as and when required.

Carers can access the plans and respond to tasks via the app on their smart device. This is great news because it means that digital care plans can fit seamlessly into your care home - especially because the intuitive nature of the software means that training isn't necessary.

How are they used to demonstrate quality care delivery to CQC?

If you work in the care industry, then you will, of course, be aware of the Care Quality Commission. However, what you might not know is that CQC themselves have said that the care sector should look to embrace technology that helps monitor care delivery. And guess what? Digital care plans are a great example of this!

Visual reports can easily be generated through the main software so that care can be monitored and adjusted accordingly. It means that carers and managers can have a better overall view of care delivery in your care home, as well as understanding individual care plans and how effective they are.

How can you switch over to digital care plans?

Making the switch to digital can be a bit daunting at first, especially with all the terminology and new systems but we have a clever (and friendly) support team to help you with any questions. And don't worry if you sometimes like to analyse data and care plans on paper instead of a screen, we've still got a print button. We also help you out with things like running a pilot and offer free training for your staff.

All you need to to is head over to our Get started page and you'll be up and running in no time!