Top 13 considerations when choosing your care home management software

Almost every aspect of running a care home can be made easier and simpler when you adopt reliable care home software. These systems can automate or improve a variety of processes, from managing medicines, to care planning or training and employee management.

Managers can use reports to help analyse data, flag up issues and make the best decisions to improve care quality or business performance. These are just a few benefits that care home software brings to your care service.

The government is pushing for all social care providers to have electronic records by December 2023. This means that the switch to digital platforms is inevitable. However, with so many different systems and options available you might find it hard to choose the best one for you.

At The Access Group, we can help you make the right choice when it comes to selecting a care software. We have helped thousands of care providers digitise their services, and with over 30 years of experience, we know what we’re talking about.

So, to help you make the switch to a digital system with total confidence, here are the top 13 things you need to consider when choosing your care home management software.

Improving safety and reducing risk is a very common motivating factor behind implementing care home software and it is probably one you share.

Certain software will automatically reduce risk, such as moving from MAR to eMAR. But there is also specific functionality you will want to ensure your new system has if you are serious about making safety a priority, reducing risk and responding as best and as fast as possible to any risk-based incidents that occur.

Alerts

Firstly, enquire as to what kind of alerts the system has. For example, if you are implementing a medication management system, will the right people be automatically alerted to missed or late medicines? If a person reports a fall, or a near miss, or uses the system to report any other form of incident such as aggressive behaviour, who gets an alert and how.

Workflow

Next, what happens after an incident? Does the system have any features to help you manage the process? For example, does it automatically create a task for someone to start an investigation? Then is the remaining workflow easy to manage and progress within the system to recommending and implementing actions or changes and then a follow-up to review whether these interventions have had the desired result?

Reporting

Lastly, what kind of reporting or dashboards are included in the system to help you understand where risks are occurring and how? Dashboards can help you track key indicators such as the number of incidents in a specific home and red flagging any key areas of concern.

More in-depth reports can help identify individuals with low fluid intake for example. Or to uncover patterns such as the relationship between specific medications and falls or high rates of aggressive behaviour at certain times, specific locations or involving certain staff.

What the above describes is a complete system to help you respond to incidents in a way that helps you learn from and prevent them from recurring. Alongside a system that helps you use data to monitor and reduce risk. It should be something you are aiming to have in the care home software you choose.

Integrated care systems are not essential, but they’re highly recommended. Integration works by allowing the effortless transition of data and information from one system to another system, improving the functionality of both and reducing admin time.

It speeds up the process of inputting data and information and prevents the need for care home staff to reinput the same data into other systems.

Having integration between certain systems also prevents risks. For example, if the medication system is integrated with the care planning system, your care staff will always have access to up-to-date information regarding what medicines a patient is taking, their dosage, what they have and haven’t taken that day, etc. In return, this improves resident safety while streamlining care planning processes.

To learn more about the top reasons why your care home software should be integrated, we have an in-depth article on the benefits of integrated care home software. You should keep these in mind when researching providers.

To reduce low or missing stock, it’s recommended that care services stay in touch with their primary pharmacy by providing regular inventory updates. Pharmacy integration is a software feature that allows you to integrate your stock levels with your pharmacy, so they can send out the medication you need (without an update) when your supply levels start to get too low. 

This is fantastic news for care providers and service users, as they can rest assured that they will always have the medication they need in stock. It also saves time on admin and eliminates lengthy stock takes.

When put into operation correctly, EMM (electronic medication management) systems can lower interpretive and dosing errors. They send out clinical alerts and responses to drug shortages, that can quickly inform all sites. This boosts patient safety, liability and communication while keeping an electronic record of medication administered alongside prescriptions. 

Most care home software requires an internet connection to ‘synchronise’ (meaning match up everyone’s updates) updates people are making as they work, for example updating care notes, administering medicines and so on.

The reality is that many care homes or areas of a care home don’t have the best WiFi signal or mobile connectivity. In this case, it’s really important that staff working on a mobile or tablet app can continue to add and update information without a connection.

Then, when their device reconnects to the network, the information they have been adding when they were ‘offline’ is quickly processed and the shared record used by all is updated.

Even if you run one care home now, or a handful of small care homes, you may want to grow in the future. If you are already on the larger side, you’ll want to be confident the care software you choose can deal with the data weight and the increased support and training needs that a larger organisation will inevitably demand.

Likewise, if you provide more complex forms of care, you want to ensure the software you are selecting is fit for your care setting and type of care.

The best way to do this is to read the software providers’ case studies, or simply ask them for examples of other customers that are very much like you that also use the system.

If that past track record is not there it doesn’t mean a system is never going to work in an organisation of your size, the size you want it to be, or delivering the kind of care that you do. However, it might mean you are the guinea pig or testing ground and you will need to determine whether that’s a gamble you want to take.

When you’re doing your research into software providers, you should take a look at the other systems they have available. While you might only need one or two for your care business today, you may require additional systems further down the line.

For example, your focus may be moving to electronic care plans now, but improving your screening and recruitment processes may become a priority in the future. As you’re aware, market conditions constantly change and your care business has the potential to grow and evolve as time goes on.

So, when looking at a potential supplier, ask yourself if they will be able to meet your needs if you require more systems in the future. Remember, there is no such thing as a wrong question.

So, ask how well their systems integrate with their own and other suppliers, how they will continue to meet your needs, etc. This will make it clear whether they’re the right choice for you.

The price of a system can be a deciding factor when it comes to digitising your care service. Most care home software is priced on a per-bed license basis, meaning you pay for the maximum capacity of beds or service users in your care home, often with the per-bed rate decreasing the more licenses you are purchasing.

During your research, you will notice that some care home software is more expensive than others.

Even though they ultimately do the same thing, there will often be significant differences between the products. In some cases, the more expensive choice could just be priced incorrectly. However, in most cases, cheaper products tend to have fewer benefits and more flaws compared to the pricier option.

Usually, when a system is cheaper, it’s because the provider is trying to price their product competitively due to being unable to compete with the quality or complexity of other (better) software.

This may be in terms of speed, support, lack of customisation or something else. Whatever it may be, implementing a cheaper system into your care business won’t always work out and could cost you more in the long run.

Another thing you need to consider is any hidden costs or charges for using the features they have to offer. For clarity, speak to the sales member allocated to you and look for reviews from current users. Get a clear idea of the overall pricing, for example, whether both initial training and ongoing support are included in the monthly license fee.

As you can see, choosing the perfect care home management software for your care service will require time, research and knowledge. At the end of the day, you’re looking for a timesaving and trustworthy tool to implement into your care service which will enhance and streamline your processes, bettering your care quality and boosting employee satisfaction. During the search process, involve and update your care staff to make them more enthusiastic about digitisation.

If you’re after a reliable system that can be used to improve your care service and deliver the highest quality of care, then you should consider teaming up with The Access Group and choosing our Care Home Management Software. Our integrated system can be personalised to meet all kinds of needs throughout your business. And with over 30 years of experience, we’ve helped many care businesses choose the best care home software for them and successfully switch to digital processes.

From start-ups to national and international providers, no challenge is too big or small for Access. Try us out by booking a demo or contact us today and speak to one of our experts about our digital software.