COVER STORY
DIGITAL DONE RIGHT
Buying tech is easy but making it work is harder. Here, Digital Care Hub explores what care leaders need to think about before choosing new technology.
If you’ve ever bought a new piece of tech for your care service, you’ll recognise the pattern. The demo looks smooth, the salesperson is charming, and the price is… manageable. You sign the contract and the job is done, right?
Not exactly.
In adult social care, digital care records are no longer optional add-ons.
For care managers and senior leaders, the question isn’t whether to go digital, but how to choose and introduce technology so it genuinely supports care.
With so many products on the market, it’s easy to focus on features, price or what other providers are buying. But what we hear, again and again at Digital Care Hub, is this: buying technology is the easy part. Making it work for staff and people drawing on care takes far more thought, time, and effort than most organisations expect.
START WITH OUTCOMES
Good technology decisions begin by asking ‘what are we trying to improve?’
Clarity about outcomes for the people drawing on care, staff and the organisation helps cut through sales language. It also gives you something solid to measure progress against.
As Tim from Birtley House reflects in Digital Care Hub’s Lessons from a Digital Do-Over case study: “DSCRs don’t save time. Good systems do. Soſtware should serve your processes, not the other way around.”
10 QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE YOU BUY
Before you buy • What outcomes are we aiming for? • What does success look like in six to 12 months?
Consent, privacy and trust • How will we explain this tech to people drawing on care and families?
• How will consent be maintained and reviewed?
Supplier questions •
Is the solution on the Assured Solutions List?
• How will the system integrate with other IT systems – including NHS records?
• What interoperability standards does it support? • How will role-based access and data sharing work in practice?
• What happens in a data breach – who is responsible? • What ongoing support is included and what costs extra? • How will the supplier meet future national information standards?
For care groups • What decisions are central and what can be local? • Can the system support diverse services?
Implementation planning • Have people drawing on care and staff been involved early?
• How will training and ongoing support be delivered?
www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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