Having to upgrade smartphones every year should be enough to prove that the world of technology is moving at an extremely fast pace. That goes for Silicon Valley startups as much as it does for local home care businesses.
Staying on the cutting edge of technology gives home care companies a leg up on the competition. Keeping up to date with the latest technology will also help home care providers give safer, more effective care to clients. And it has the added bonus of serving as a profitable marketing tactic as consumers are drawn to providers with the best way of doing things.
Because technology moves so quickly, it can be hard to determine how your home care business will keep up. There are a few important things to keep in mind when considering this. Let’s take a look at three of them:
Monitoring Technologies
While technology across the board is advancing, the home care industry can take advantage of certain kinds of tech more than others. These niche devices and systems help providers monitor their clients, ensure their safety, and improve their quality of life.
One of the most useful types of medical technology falls into the “sensors” category. These range from sensors placed around doors in the client’s home that provide alerts of irregular activity to others that can send notifications if an Alzheimer’s patient forgets to eat dinner. Sensors like this help keep home care providers informed about what the client is doing even if they aren’t present. In a way, this helps the client retain more of their independence at home.
Meanwhile, remote monitoring devices allow providers to check in on a patient without actually being there. Advances in this field are being made every day. From smartwatches that can measure heart arrhythmias to sleep trackers and smart blood pressure cuffs to remote glucose monitors, these innovations eliminate the need for daily check-ups. Even so, home care providers will still be able to get daily updates on their patients.
Finally, a huge area of improvement is automated appointment data. This allows an agency to send appointment reminders and more via text message directly to clients and certain family members. Many facilities, both hospital-based and home-based, are already using this type of technology to keep patients informed.
Keeping Staff Educated
While technology can drastically help home care businesses, it means nothing if employees aren’t also up to date on it. Keeping staff educated on your company’s latest technology means it can be used to its fullest potential.
But what is the best way to make sure employees stay technologically savvy? As it turns out, hands-on training is one of the best ways to get people familiar with new digital systems and gadgets. This means that home care companies can host a training session that briefly goes over any new technology before allowing employees to try it out for themselves. Rather than trying to explain it all in a lecture, a hands-on demonstration can keep team members on track.
Along with this, home care business managers should encourage their employees to have an open mind. Often, this is one of the largest barriers to adopting new technologies. By staying open to better methods of doing things, providers will often be more willing to accept technology into their care routine.
Staying In Touch
Ultimately, home care businesses don’t want to focus on having to keep up with technology. Instead, they want to focus on providing quality care for clients while attracting new ones. Like home health marketing, keeping up with technology requires some effort.
Fortunately, there are plenty of resources out there that can help home care companies stay in touch with current trends and innovations. A great place to start is the Home Care Technology Association of America. This organization aims to, “support initiatives that advance the use of health information technology and telehealth in home health care.”
HCTAA has a LinkedIn group that is an excellent collaboration space for home care managers looking to keep their company at the forefront of technological implementation. The group also has a weekly newsletter that details important home care technology issues in an easy-to-ready format.
While this is a great place to start, there are countless other resources out there. From online searches to health technology conferences, there is no shortage of people willing to help. Keeping the home care industry as a whole up to speed technologically is in the best interest of everyone. So, by working together, home care businesses, clients, and organizations like the HCTAA can make this a reality.
Too Important To Ignore
At this point in society, not staying up to date with home care technology can spell disaster for your business. Fortunately, keeping your company in the loop is easier than it seems. Thanks to a host of helpful resources and cutting-edge technologies that are impossible to resist, 21st century home care is here to stay.
If your home care company is in need of robust home-care specific marketing tools, be sure to consult with the industry’s leader today!
