What the Home Healthcare Industry Can Learn from Netflix

Inevitably home and community care providers need a software solution to help them do what is most important – deliver quality care to their clients.  There are hundreds of home healthcare software solutions on the market that come in in all shapes, sizes and flavors, which enable nurses, care workers, and/or companions to perform services in the home.

While there is no such thing as a perfect fit, what we will put forward is that when it comes to on premise vs. a cloud-based solution, there is no contest and you must choose the cloud (or Software as a Service – SaaS). 

But this post is not meant to examine the litany of features, functions and cost/benefit analysis of the best home healthcare software solutions, this post is about one important distinction – subscription.

Consider Netflix as a shining example of subscription; there is no DVD/Blu Ray player. 

The service is available on any smart TV, laptop, tablet or mobile and you don’t even need to own this device. Gone are the days of browsing a local blockbuster, or purchasing disks that collect dust on shelves—now it’s all at your fingertips.

Moreover, Netflix recognizes how important original content is in maintaining its subscribers; each month new content appears while the fee remains constant and for a manageable rate, audiences pledge their support. 

Members can leave at any time but they usually don’t because Netflix recognizes to keep their members they need to constantly deliver. So how does all this compare to home healthcare software?

• In a cloud-based world, the burden of servers, security and infrastructure is on the software vendor. Because all clients are accessing the same code base in a multi-tenant environment, the vendor can achieve incredible economies of scale.
• Most sophisticated SaaS offerings in the homecare space offer a ZERO DOWNTIME environment. This means as new features are released, existing clients are unaffected. More importantly, to preserve the subscription the vendor needs to provide great “content” just like Netflix needs to do with their audiences.
• Single sign on and any screen approach. For example, the AlayaCare solution is a web based solution that uses responsive design principals, giving our users any screen accessibility. We also believe a native application has a place in the operations of home care. This mirrors Netflix: sometimes accessing the “thin” web client makes most sense, while other times (especially in areas of poor data connectivity) a “thick” or mobile application makes more sense. In our world, when it comes to accessing information it’s an every-screen philosophy.

In summary, the MOST important similarity between SaaS software and Netflix is the financial alignment between the software provider and the client. AlayaCare is developed using the latest technology and we recognize that to preserve our clients we need to deliver happiness along with great technology month-in and month-out.  To date we have a perfect client retention rate and we will strive to preserve this exemplary status.