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Reduce missed visits and improve client outcomes by leveraging technology 

Reduce Missed Visits and Improve Client Outcomes by leveraging technology

The number one challenge that all home and community care providers face is care worker shortage. Providers need solutions to allow them to deliver more care in the community with their existing resources by increasing utilization and efficiency. 

Scheduling is a clear area where modern software can help an agency deliver more and better care with its existing resources. If schedulers — who operate almost like air traffic controllers — and caregivers are in coordinated sync, it can expand the number of clients the team can manage in a week. Technology that can optimize schedules and routes for caregivers on the road and increase communication to those working remotely can deliver huge efficiencies. This can be imperative for the caregiver experience

AlayaCare’s optimization algorithm allows providers to create more efficient schedules and routes. On average, we’re looking for up to a 30 percent reduction in travel time. While this capability alone has the potential to be transformative for the home care sector in a time when demand is outstripping supply, we paired this feature with our Shift Offer functionality to enable faster communication between office and caregivers regarding schedule changes and vacant visits. 

How mobile messaging can help improve employee churn in home care 

Vacant visits can add unnecessary labor expenses for the home care organization and can also lead to longer wait times for clients, and a lower quality of care due to lack of staff availability. When it comes to employee churn, vacant visits/shifts can add stress on existing workers as they are asked to take on more duties and workloads than usual. This in turn can lead to job dissatisfaction and ultimately, employees may choose to leave their current job for better opportunities elsewhere. 

By having the ability to be notified of vacant visits/shifts via mobile messaging, caregivers can enjoy several benefits:  

  1. They can take advantage of the flexibility in scheduling as they can be informed about available shifts instantly and respond quickly.  
  2. This will give them more job security as they won’t have to worry about missing out on shifts due to lack of notifications.  
  3. Caregivers can also feel more satisfied knowing that their employers are putting effort into creating better communication systems for their employees, leading to improved employee retention rates.  
  4. It can help reduce confusion regarding shift changes and last-minute cancellations. 

The impact on overall home care delivery 

Improved management of staff availability through mobile messaging can lead to improved client outcomes by reducing wait times, improving communication, and ensuring that the right people are assigned to certain tasks.  

Updating care workers in real time 

For some agencies access to schedules and updates is limited due to paper processes or legacy solutions. Once the ideal schedule and routes are calculated, there is no way to update care workers in real time. With implementing mobile messaging for vacant visits, AlayaCare’s mobile app frees caregivers from sitting by the phone waiting to receive shifts they want and can accept and get confirmation in minutes. Caregivers also can respond promptly if any changes need to be made and if any additional help or assistance is needed. 

Visibility into all vacant visits and recurrences 

Unfortunately, many factors can lead to missed visits including out-of-date schedules, caregivers are delayed due to traffic or other unforeseen circumstances, or current care plans aren’t available when and where caregivers need them. Visibility into staffing inefficiencies and analyzing capacity is also cumbersome without the right tools in place. 

Using a vacant shift offer tool allows schedulers and coordinators to find the most suitable replacement employee in minutes with visibility into all vacant visits and recurrences. It also creates better communication between caregivers and care recipients, which can lead to a higher level of satisfaction and trust in services.  

Improved client outcomes by reducing wait times 

Offering shifts and coordinating care through phone calls can take quite a while. Care providers waste precious minutes trying to reach the office and could be left waiting for more shift details. When staff can respond quickly to notifications regarding vacant visits/shifts, they can fill those positions in a timelier manner. This will ensure that clients don’t have to wait too long for their appointments or services. 

Ensure the right people are assigned to right visits 

All shift changes and offers need to be approved by the manager. This becomes difficult to track when done via word-of-mouth or paper processes causing errors in scheduling the right person for the shift.  

Having a tool that provides full visibility into the offers that are sent out and the associated metrics can help coordinators and schedulers make more informed decisions when assigning tasks. With this level of transparency, they can better see who is available for shifts or visits at any given time, allowing them to make sure the right people are being assigned to the right jobs. This will ensure that clients receive the best possible care with minimal wait times while also providing caregivers with job security and satisfaction. 

Consider AlayaCare’s Shift Offer tool when looking to inform caregivers of vacant visits via mobile app 

Utilizing AlayaCare’s Shift Offers tool in the Caregiver Mobile App to instantly inform caregivers of vacant visits/shifts via mobile messaging, allows them to efficiently pick up additional shifts.  

With this new scheduling feature, your agency can:  

  • Enhance real-time visibility and communication with field staff. 
  • Utilize secure broadcast shift offer messaging for last minute schedule changes or vacant visits. 
  • Broadcast email messages as a secondary channel for alerts. 
  • Send single visit or visit recurrence offers with an associated response due date. 
  • Send confirmation notifications to the caregiver who accepts an offer with the relevant visit information. 
  • See individual responses from each caregiver the offer was sent to and assign one or all future visits. 

Learn more about managing visits in real-time and how your agency can give your caregivers the tools to provide the highest quality care. 

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