Digital care records
Get your move to digital care records right, first time
Steve Sawyer, managing director, Access Health, Support & Care, at The Access Group, on the tools providers need to successfully select and implement a digital care record system
The government’s aim for 80 per cent of CQC registered care providers to have digital care records by March 2024 seeks to deliver benefits for care providers, service users, and the wider health and care system. However, digitisation of care records within any care service requires the right approach in order to work and deliver the desired benefits. Success is not guaranteed. Some care providers’ attempts to digitise have not been successful. The consequences of poor system
selection or implementation can lead to wasted time and money. It can cause disruption for your staff, services, and service users. Quite the opposite of the improved efficiency, safety, and service quality that you will be aiming for through digitisation. If you are a care provider looking to
digitise your paper records, or upgrade from your existing system, you may be approaching the matter with some trepidation. Researching and planning your digitisation properly is difficult and time consuming and you have neither time nor money to spare if things go wrong. After reading this article, you will be
equipped with the key fundamentals of selecting and implementing a digital care record system successfully. You will avoid common pitfalls others have unfortunately experienced, get the highest return on investment from your new system, and maximise its value to you now and in the future.
What are digital care record systems? Digital care record systems can go by a number of different names. Most care providers will talk about ‘electronic care planning software’ or sometimes ‘care management software’. Different systems from different suppliers vary, of course, but all will offer you a way of replacing paper assessments, care plans, observation notes, and so on, with digital versions.
These systems typically include a mobile app that care workers and others can use to view and update records, conduct assessments, and make observations as they go about their duties.
Why digitise – what are the benefits? You may already be aware of some of the benefits of electronic care records when
compared to paper. However, many care providers’ knowledge of these benefits may be limited to just one area, efficiency, for example, but not another, such as safety. Understanding the full range of benefits is important. It ensures that during the entire process, from selecting, to implementing and then perfecting your use of a system, you are targeting those benefits. Having a clear, comprehensive understanding of why you are making a change will act like a compass point, steering your decisions in the direction of those goals and giving you a much better chance of achieving them.
Mitigating risk and improving safety When using paper records, there is always a chance that someone has out-of-date information in their hands. This creates risk, as care workers may take the wrong action based on incorrect information. Care records in digital systems are synchronised, meaning there is essentially a single, shared care record for all staff.
Through the use of reminders, data
validation, and other mechanisms, digital care record systems enforce information collection, in the format that you want. This puts a stop to gaps in notes or observations, missed activities, or information being recorded in an improper format, all of which can impact resident safety.
Improved efficiency Digital care records remove the need to type up, copy, transpose or in any other way duplicate information from one record to another. They make finding the information you need much faster, whether in the office or by a resident’s side. If the system is sophisticated enough, it will automate a range of processes and workflow to help ensure follow up tasks get done, reducing burdens on registered managers and other members of staff.
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www.thecarehomeenvironment.com May 2023
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