Home-based care providers continue to look toward technology to address workforce issues.
While there’s no silver bullet, those providers are gaining traction.
One of the companies that believes it is uncovering new ways to optimize care through technology is Atlanta-based Sharecare (Nasdaq: SHCR).
“One of the things that we leverage our technology for at CareLinx is to really understand the density of available workforce in a particular market ahead of a program launching,” Francesca Rinaldo, head of clinical strategy for home care at Sharecare, said last month at Home Health Care News’ FUTURE conference. “We can actually look at the zip code level and determine how many non-clinical — as well as clinical — [workers] we have registered on the network and whether or not they’re recently active within the last 30, 60 or 90 days.”
CareLinx — originally launched as a tech-enabled home-based care company that coordinated non-medical personal care services — was acquired by Sharecare in 2021.
Technology has also shown the ability to predict and address caregiver burnout.
“That capability exists today,” Christina Andrews, senior director of professional services at Axxess, also said during the FUTURE panel. “Whether you’re looking at full-time staff orPRNs, providers have the ability now to look at shifts, the number of visits, and if a caregiver is getting too many weeknights or weekends. There are so many metrics that apply itself to overall burnout. So, as an owner or manager, you can address it more proactively.”
Dallas-based Axxess is a home-based care technology company that provides agencies with cloud-based software solutions.
Andrews and her team work with over 9,000 organizations that serve more than 3 million patients around the world.
They’ve also found that technology can help in areas like route and schedule optimization for caregivers.
“The travel time for caregivers — depending on if you’re in an urban or rural setting — could also equate to burnout,” Andrews said. “What caregivers want is to be in the home caring, not driving around everywhere.”
Technology can also play a role in retention rates. Specifically, for AssuranceSD, it’s shown to be useful when considering continuity of care.
“When you have that continuity with your caregivers — especially when folks know the individual personally or have a relationship that spans more than several months and into years, the implications are drastically greater,” Lucas O’Connell, VP of operations at AssuranceSD, said at FUTURE. “We now have an opportunity to gather data points shift by shift, day by day. It’s taking something that’s entirely quantitative and making it more qualitative.”
AssuranceSD provides financial management services and self-directed care across 13 states.
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