IT for Aged Care Providers: A Step by Step Guide
Benefits of IT
For many aged care service providers, the use of computers – or information technology (IT) – offers many benefits in terms of efficiency, resident are and safety. However, many people do not appreciate that computers are simply a tool – and like any tool, it is the way you use it that matters. In order to fully realise the potential benefits of installing a new computer system, providers also need to adopt some complementary management and organisational strategies.
It doesn't have to be rocket-science. There are many really easy ways to help you make the most from your investment in IT.
IT Benefits
Easy examples of the benefits of IT include:
Regardless of whether your facility is large, medium or small, considerable benefits can be achieved through the use of information technology – and it is within your control. There are a few simple things to keep in mind:
- you need a clear, strategic reason for the investment in IT – be clear about why you want to invest in IT and the benefits that you are expecting;
- you need to be knowledgeable about your business processes – you need to know how things really work – and where the problems and time wasters are;
- be patient – getting the most from IT takes time – you are unlikely to start realising any benefits immediately; and
- expect, and be positive about, the changes that are needed.
Increase effectiveness, reduce costs
Effective use of IT usually requires a short term investment (of money, time and people) for a longer term gain.Some of the gains will be immediately obvious, others take longer to appreciate. Overall, though, smart use of IT will make your organisation – its people and its processes – much more efficient.
- Many of the administrative activities undertaken in aged care facilities need to be repeated over and over. IT enables many such processes to be automated. From simple things, like enabling your address to be input at the touch of a single key; to more complex processes such as automated rostering and shift management. Some facilities have their payroll and shift management software automatically linked.
- IT can assist managers to access reliable information about all aspects of the organisation. Data can be easily collated, sorted and searched to enable accurate reporting and fact-based decision-making.
- Payments, claims and other forms can be submitted online, leading to faster turn around times and accurate lodgement records.
- Some aged care facilities still rely upon processes that revolve around the fax machine and handwritten forms. Effective use of IT can reduce or eliminate the need to re-record information – for example many aged care facilities no longer re-write clinical notes; medication prescriptions; incident reports or admission forms. Recording information at the source saves time and provides greater accuracy.
- Using IT effectively can save time. Staff can spend less time on administrative tasks and more time on the things that really matter to clients and their families.
- Introducing new IT systems can prompt a whole new way of looking at the way you run your organisation. Small changes can prompt larger ones, as staff come to see the potential for improvements across many areas.
Case Study – Paperless Records
Berlasco Court Caring Centre is a multicultural residential aged care facility in Queensland with 60 high-care residents and 90 staff, largely from multicultural backgrounds.It had a complicated records collection and management process. Forms for recording clinical information were detailed and complex and needed to be photocopied and arranged for each resident. Items were often duplicated and allergies and other key information could become 'lost' in the paperwork. Drug sheets needed to be completed manually, checked and counterchecked by a general practitioner and this process repeated every 3-4 months by staff.
Record keeping was revolutionised by implementing an electronic data entry and collection system to convert their paper-based records to electronic format. Wireless technologies allowed care plans and progress notes to be updated “from the floor”.
Consistent records, the elimination of redundant information and accurate reporting were some of the time-saving benefits that resulted. Berlasco Court estimate that record keeping is now done in approximately half the time.
Incident Reporting
The benefits of IT need not be restricted to increasing the efficiency of the administrative staff.The use of IT to record and analyse incident reports can lead to immediate benefits for staff and clients.
- Allowing clinical staff to enter their reports directly into the system reduces transcription errors and, where appropriate, allows for genuine anonymity.
- Individual incident reports can be submitted and assessed in a more timely fashion.
- Incident report data can be collated on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to allow immediate analysis of incident trends or issues. Remedial action can then be quickly implemented.
Residents' benefits
Email and online video-conferencing can provide residents with an important means of communication with family and friends for residents in aged care facilities. Access to the world wide web is similarly important, offering a rich source of information, recreation and interaction.However, Internet access need not be an end in itself. The very process of using the Internet – or learning to use it – can be used to promote social interaction, enhance skills, encourage personal development and build community networks.
As well as communicating online, providing communal access to the Internet gives people sharing an aged care facility something else to talk to each other about.
Interesting web sites can be shared and discussed, and useful tips can be passed along.
Residents proficient in Internet use could perhaps be encouraged to teach others. Volunteer trainers can also be sourced locally through community groups (Rotary, Senior Citizens Associations, Scouts and Guides, neighbourhood houses, and so on).
Providing Internet access to residents is also an inexpensive way of increasing the attractiveness of the package of services offered to residents. But the benefits to residents don't stop there.
Using IT in the provision of clinical care can also increase the safety and quality of care provided to residents. Clinical use of IT can deliver:
- improved health outcomes and quality of life for residents;
- more efficient and cost effective care; and
- improved accuracy, quality and availability of the information that is collected and used in clinical decision making, leading to improvements in consistency of care and reduction in errors.
- Importantly, the use of IT – whether for clinical or administrative purposes – reduces the time spent on paperwork and allows your staff to spend more time with the residents.
Case Study – Internet Café
The establishment of an Internet café at Helping Hand residential aged care facility (Adelaide, SA) was seen as a tool to facilitate lifelong learning opportunities for residents and to promote intergenerational interaction with nearby schools and the wider community.In collaboration with nearby high school students, Helping Hand staff, volunteers and residents, the foyer of Helping Hand was transformed into a hub of activity and technology. There has been a progressive development of the technology available in the Internet café, which now incorporates 2 personal computers; a digital camera; a flatbed scanner and CD burner; and a Sony camcorder. Customised tables were built to accommodate wheelchair access and where possible, the equipment was purchased for low cost at auction.
Benefits of the Internet café include:
- a positive impact on quality of life for all those involved;
- enabling contact with others - email is used to stay in touch with relatives overseas or within Australia;
- increased profile of aged care initiatives;
- improved staff morale and commitment;
- improved reputation and community involvement.
Future possibilities
The State and Federal Government's are working collaboratively in the development of eHealth.Defined simply, eHealth is the provision of healthcare supported by information technology through electronic processes and communication.
In the future it is envisaged that through eHealth hospitals, GPs, pharmacies and aged care facilities, with the right IT capabilities, will be able to appropriately share and access an individual's electronic healthcare related information to provide better, safer, more co-ordinated services.
eHealth has the potential to improve outcomes for all with greater efficiency and to dissolve barriers such as access, distance, time and geography.
The eHealth developments in your region are something worth keeping an eye on.
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