Electronic care records made simple
If you're a care provider, you'll probably have noticed lots of information about electronic care records around at the moment, and some of it can be really confusing and conflicting. We've put together this simple guide for you, so you'll soon be all clued up on electronic care records.
What are electronic care records?
Electronic care records are just digitalised versions of paper care records. It gets a bit more complicated when you look at the software and apps involved with them, but that’s really all there is to them. They do come with a whole host of benefits over paper care plans such as being fully GDPR compliant, real time updates, and the ability to analyse all the data into reports – and on top of all that they save care providers heaps of time.
How do they work for care providers?
To make it simple to understand it’s best to think about electronic care records in two parts – a central software system that the care manager can use to distribute care and analyse delivery, and an app that carers use to tick off tasks and update care notes. Because all the data is stored electronically, it is really easy to search and access resident data, especially when out on the floor delivering one to one care.
How they are used to evidence care in regulatory inspections?
Regulatory inspections by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) can be stressful for many care providers. However, if its easy for you to evidence your care, the stress of these visits can be significantly reduced. The current Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOEs) that the CQC inspect on include how care providers are using technology to enhance care delivery. Electronic care records not only help providers meet these KLOEs, but they give you the option to easily store and present information on care delivery (and how it’s improved) over time.
What are the benefits of using electronic care records vs. paper ones?
A lot of care providers still use paper care records, which can be really time consuming to update, irrelevant, and difficult to store or easily search through. Electronic care records can help mitigate these problems – they can be updated at the tap of a screen and its really easy to search through care records for individual residents or for specific dates. Digital care records also have the benefit of being updated in real time, making them more accurate than paper care notes, and a lot more time effective.
Where you can you get your hands on a good system?
Luckily we can help you set up an electronic care planning system in your care home. The main bulk of our software is free, so you won’t have to pay any upfront costs and we’re always on hand to help. We can also talk you through how to download the care office for the managers (that’s where the manager can add residents and their information) and the care app for carers. Head on over to our Get Started page and set yourself up a free account today.
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