Electronic care plans - What you need to know

So you're thinking about switching from paper care recording to electronic care plans? You've come to the right place!

We've compiled a handy little list of things you need to look out for when moving onto an electronic care planning system, because not all electronic care planning systems are created equal.

Are the electronic care plans person-centred?

Does the electronic care system support your Carers to record the care they provide in the right manner? Does it include everything you need for inspections, and it be edited to fit your service's needs?

If it doesn't, ditch it! If you're going to go digital, you want to make sure the software is a great fit with your team otherwise it's not worth your time. Speaking of time...

Will they actually save you and your Carers time?

if the electronic care system isn't silly simple, then it won't save you time. Your Care teams will struggle to get to grips with it and you'll spend more time trying to teach them how to use it than actually leaving them to use paper.

Our software is intuitive to use and simple to learn - from the minute you download it to when you actually start logging care. Most of our community get up and running on our electronic care system in a week or so - talk about speedy!

Does the electronic care system integrate with your processes? ?

The better systems on the market will help to support the way that you like to record care, however, the best systems will actually empower you to record better information in less time.

Luckily our electronic care system can do both. We built our Carer App to save Carers time so they can spend their shifts focusing on what really matters: delivering high-quality care. But it also is fully customisable and can be tailored to fit your service's needs. ?

Can you get access to your data when you need it?

Pretty obvious but when you need your data, you need your data! If the electronic care plan software doesn't allow you to extract your data when you need it, then you need to steer clear.

Make sure you are able to access charts and reports with the click of a button, and that you can share them with outside parties just as easily. You don't want to be hunting for logs before your next inspection!

Is the electronic care system secure? ?

Don't forget the data regulations change in May 2018 with the introduction of GDPR. You need to make sure that the company that provides the electronic care plans and the software provider is up to date with regulatory requirements.

Is the electronic care system affordable? ?

You need to establish what your care home can afford and make sure that the system comes in under the budget. Don't forget if you need to have supporting assets like good Wi-Fi and smartphones to use the system, these will all add to the costs.

Many of our community members wanted to go digital but couldn't afford any of the electronic care planning software on the market until they found us. Our Core module is totally free because we believe everyone should have the option to go digital no matter your budget or size. Not only is our Core software free, but it's also award-winning. Now that's what I call a quality investment!

Does the electronic care planning system actually help your Carers to communicate and coordinate their efforts better?

Good electronic care plans will help your Care teams work in a smarter fashion, cost little and help your Care Home provide better care to your residents.

With most Care Homes we've spoken to that use Log my Care, seeing at least 2 hours of Carer time freed up compared to writing paper care notes and plans. It can help you pass your inspection and improve the quality of care you deliver. And because Log my Care is free, there's really no risk to trying it out!

Have a play with our electronic care plans today by creating a free account here.