Preventative Measures to Strengthen the Future Role of Home Care Workers
Myriad occupations across the United States are teeming with individuals who are hardworking, dedicated, and fulfilled because they are helping others in some form. Many people conduct important work for the good of society and its members and inherently care for those they serve. Unfortunately, the same jobs may experience higher than average turnover rates and low job satisfaction.
One important field of work that needs special attention is that of the home care worker. Statistics, projections, and studies attest to the growing problem facing the imminent, disproportionate home-care worker to in-home patient ratio.
While the home care industry may be at risk, more importantly, is that millions of citizens who currently receive in-home care coupled with the millions who will be eligible for care in the future will not experience quality care from a collaborative care team.
Proactive measures, including the leveraging technology with care being provided, can be employed to save the direct care workforce and ensure that the entire guidance of care experience proves beneficial not only to the patients but to the workers as well.
An individual or family member who does not rely on in-home care may find it difficult to imagine how the home care worker shortage impacts his/her life. However, as more citizens are aging in place, and as the aging population grows exponentially, one must be forward thinking about his/her future care, and about the quality of care his/her loved ones will receive.
According to Eduardo Porter of the New York Times, there will be a shortage of 350,000 paid care providers by 2040, the Department of Labor projects that 1 million more home care workers will be needed by 2026, and there will be 50 million disabled people in the U.S. by 2040 who will be in need of long-term care.
While the 85 and older population was 1.8% in 2010, that number will rise to 4.5% in 2050. This perfect-storm scenario can be viewed as an opportunity to enhance the home care experience by empowering the care team with home care technology.
Technology is not the panacea for all home health care issues, but with effective execution, it can allow home care workers to focus on their patients and provide quality care. By equipping home care workers with a solid home care technology platform that improves workflow and processes, they will be able to realize their passion for caring for others in need. Administrative duties, paperwork responsibilities, scheduling, and billing are time-consuming tasks that take away from home care workers and the care team.
Home care technology will allow home care workers to communicate with their home care clients about their care and will improve communication among nurses, doctors, families, and other caregivers. Their symbiotic relationship will be a coordinated effort to educate everyone about care plans, gaps in care, changes in condition, and the effectiveness of the care provided.
Most importantly, home care providers will be empowered, feel their time is utilized more effectively and will be appreciated by the patients and the team. According to an article by De Root, Maurits, and Francke entitled “Attractiveness of working in home care,” the home care workers want to feel like ‘linchpins’, “in the sense of being the leading professional and with the patient as the center of care.
Home‐care nurses also find having autonomy attractive: autonomy over decision‐making about care, freedom in work scheduling and working in a self‐directed team. ” Lastly, technology will play a part concerning ‘altercasting’,“a compliance-gaining technique using social roles to govern behavior, is well suited for the home care context. ” Home care aides take the roles of parent, trainer, employee, and friend, and this skill is proven to convince clients to complete necessary tasks of daily living, and caregivers feel rewarded and appreciated on various levels.
The collaborative, customized technology and software created by Sinq Technologies is used daily by home care workers and continues to transform how care is delivered. Robust reports and data monitored and applied to care plans by experienced, appreciated, dignified home care specialists for informed, respected clients and their families positions software platform well within the future of quality home health care.
About Sinq Technologies
Sinq’s full-service, collaborative software platform was built with a purpose in mind. Sinq’s Care Plan Transparency, Care Gap Management, EVV, and Change in Care Monitoring makes Sinq’s software stand out within the industry. We can help you become compliant, but our expansive software offers long-term solutions for the betterment of your agency and clients. Call today for more information, a free demo, or a consultation at (847) 325-5007, or visit us at www.sinq.io
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