Does care plan technology help residents in care homes?

It seems as though everything we do in our day to day lives is gradually starting to involve more and more technology. Although it can be a bit daunting to make the switch to digital at first, a new technology that fits seamlessly into your daily routine can be a real benefit and can really work to improve the care quality for residents in care homes.

What is care plan technology?

Care plan technology is the way we describe anything to do with recording and organising care plans digitally. Once it's all set up and running, it can be connected with both the care manager or staff directly and monitored in real time. Care managers can then coordinate, monitor the care given, organise meetings and make sure that carer To-Do lists have been completed correctly and on time. The technology can also be used to analyse care plans and really understand an individual's needs, which results in the delivery of outstanding resident-focused care.

How can it help to enable better care for residents in a care home?

It may sound obvious, but being able to access data when you need it is important! The digital aspects of care management software mean that important information can always be accessed as and when required. This data can be used to help create care plans that are tailored to individuals as well as care home staff. For example, the manager can enter simple information about a resident's dietary requirements, and other important notes. Carers can access this when required and it enables the right care to be organised for each resident. Because care plan technology is able to be carried around in the pockets of staff, they can tick off tasks and record notes in real time. Â Information is safely stored on the cloud, you can be confident that it is used correctly to give residents the very best care. Care technology helps you to keep track of care that is being delivered and helps you stay on top of it. Nothing gets missed and the care plans are designed around residents' specific needs.

What does this mean in practice?

By now you're probably asking yourself what this means for you in your care home. Well, we've spent a lot of time talking to carers about how care technology can actually help and enhance the care that they give. That's why we've developed technology that is based on something that can be carried in your pocket to help improve the little things in carer's lives. To complete tasks carers simply take out their smart device, open the app, tap a few icons to tick off tasks or add notes, and carry on with their routine. We also know how easy it can be to forget a task if you get interrupted or called off to do something else. That's why there's a snooze feature for tasks, helping carers prioritise their responsibilities and manage their time more effectively.

Each task or time spent with residents is logged and can be seen immediately by care managers, which gives greater visibility of care delivery than paper notes. Managers can also analyse reports or data to see what care is delivered and where. Care technology really is clever, and the more you use it the more it will adapt to understand your needs - and that's where care home software really comes into its own. It knows that every care home has unique requirements and will adapt to help residents and carers alike.