The home health market is growing. Projections show the market reaching more than $660 billion by the year 2027 and the World Health Organization predicts the world’s population of elderly people will reach 2.1 billion in the year 2050.
And those people will need competent, dedicated long-term care. Add in constant innovations driven by new technologies and it’s easy to see why finding the right software solution matters so much for your home healthcare agency.
With the right home care software, you’ll streamline your operations, improve scheduling, and maintain compliance. In this guide, you’ll learn the 5 most important factors to consider when choosing a new SaaS solution for your home care agency.
Billing and Payroll Capabilities
Taking care of accounting is one of the most important parts of running your business. However, it’s also one of the most arduous and time-consuming. Fortunately, most market-leading software solutions integrate with accounting platforms such as QuickBooks or NetSuite accounting. Choose a software product that connects to your accounting platform to make issuing and collecting invoices as well as paying employees simple and easy.
One good feature to look for specifically is the ability to generate and send invoices to clients automatically.
Home Care Software With a Mobile App
As a home care agency, your employees will be working on the go so they’ll need access to their tools on their mobile phones. Look for software that comes with a mobile app to support your agency. A good app will make it easy for carers to log time, access a patient’s care history, and share notes for future care. The right software will also facilitate communication between care providers, the agency, clients, and clients’ families.
Time Tracking and Visit Verification
Home care agencies are required to track home visits and verify that care was provided. Good agency software providers will sync their programs to the carer’s device’s GPS to track and verify visits. The software will detect the worker’s location and record how much time they spend there to record home visit attendance.
Electronic visit verification is a requirement under the 21st Century Cures Act passed in 2016.
Scheduling Features and Capabilities
Your agency needs to ensure that all shifts are covered and there are carers available for each scheduled visit. Choose software that allows employees to set their availability as well as bid on available jobs. Look for features that let you specify if you want shifts to be available to all workers or specific employees and let you choose whether or not you want to automatically accept the first worker to choose a job.
The scheduling system is the part your workers will be using the most so it needs to be easy and intuitive for them.
Flexibility and Customization Capabilities
Each patient you work with will come with their own unique needs, so your home care agency software needs to be as flexible as possible. You’ll also want a product that can grow and adapt with your business. Going with a cloud-based SaaS product means you’ll have access to an API which makes it possible to sync it with various third-party apps and services. You’ll have access to all the information and features you need without switching between programs.
Ultimately, you want to find software that will streamline and simplify your business operations and be flexible enough that it will continue to support your agency as it grows and evolves. Choosing a product with good accounting, scheduling, and time-tracking features will set your agency up for success.
