We Excitedly Announce Ryan Westwood As Our New Chairman of the Board! Read Press Release

Keep your Distance using a Digital Solution

Encouraging quality hygiene practices. Mandating restrictions on travel. Inspiring each other to stay at home. The result. A nation banding together to keep each other safe!

A key aspect of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been the need to maintain a healthy distance to prevent the spread of the virus. But for our vulnerable community members who require ongoing essential care and daily support, especially those living with disability, isolation can be a lot more complicated. Practices like social distancing can take a toll on all of us when we’re separated from our loved ones, such as our ageing relatives and those with an increased vulnerability. However, as our regulators appear to have guided us through the pointy-end of the crisis, the viral situation continues to improve, and the Australian community starts to re-engage in social activities, it’s important that we remain vigilant about protecting the vulnerable members of our community.

For service providers, it’s crucial that your teams continue to focus on keeping clients and participants healthy and safe while at the same time maintaining business success. One of the best ways to do this is with the support of technology. But it’s important to make sure you have the right tools in place.

Here are a few ways that digital solutions can help you and your workers keep a safe distance.

 

1. Get real-time data remotely from the cloud

Who knew that using real-time technology remotely from secure cloud servers would streamline business processes and support our teams to work effectively…?

While the advantage of a cloud-based solution may have been obvious to some, the challenge of rapidly adopting remote working strategies has emphasised the clear benefits of cloud-based solutions. For many organisations, these solutions have helped workers quickly transition to working remotely, and supported them as they’ve continued to work from home. It has meant they could get up and running using familiar interfaces to access real-time data without fumbling their way through elaborate technical requirements.

Cloud-based solutions also mean that workers can access the same information from different locations to work together with ease. Even at a distance, using technology can enable teams to collaborate and improve the way they deliver client care.

Keeping real-time data handy on a complete workflow healthcare platform also helps to keep an eye on your overall business situation. While your team (no matter its spanse) increases its efficiency through better collaboration, you can look for ways to refine your business strategies at any time, from any location. This not only improves care practices, but can help improve your overall business efficiency.

2. Stay in touch with mobile

Just because it’s too risky to deliver a service in-person, doesn’t mean that care has to stop and workplaces need to come to a halt!

The spread of mobile devices like laptops, tablets and smart phones, has increasingly enabled us to stay in touch while keeping our distance. While many of these devices have been creeping into our day-to-day workplace activities, the need for isolation and distancing has seen them really prove their worth. For providers of essential care services, these devices have helped them continue to connect with clients to support their wellbeing.

Digital tools can also help to reduce unnecessary person-to-person contact. For example, with the right software applications, mobile devices can enable workers to submit details of the services they’ve provided without the need to visit a central office. This not only reduces unnecessary person-to-person contact, it enables them to be better focussed on the services that they provide.

3. Keep up with revenue and claiming

Business will be far from usual for while, so it’s going to be crucial to keep on top of revenue and claiming. Particularly as rules and regulations are rapidly updated and changed.

Having the right tools and technology partner can not only help you maintain your revenue during difficult times, it can help ease your stress. For example, the NDIA made several changes to increase the flexibility of NDIS funding during COVID-19. While these changes provided great support for providers and participants, there was a lot to take in at a difficult time. This provided an opportunity for technology partners to step up and do some heavy lifting. For some, this meant digesting the changes and developing and applying solutions to keep customer claiming compliant and on track. It has also meant anticipating the additional changes that will be required once some of these supports are removed.

The advantages of keeping current with the changing funding landscape also extend to your bigger business picture. The right tools enable you to maintain a view of your business financials while quickly adapting to minor and major funding changes as they occur.

4. Maintain compliance

A digital solution can help you to quickly and effectively comply with changing regulations and requirements. For example, in the NDIS space, there have been several changes to key policies to support participants during COVID-19. These changes can be quickly incorporated into a digital system and applied to ensure that you remain compliant and can help participants claim any new services as they become available.

5. Online support

But what happens when it all goes wrong? Will someone need to crawl under my desk to fix this…?

Even the most robust system can experience issues during challenging times, particularly when things are changing quickly. When you’re selecting a digital solution, it’s important to consider the type of support that will be available. Some solutions will just leave you to it and let you try to figure it out on your own. Others will require onsite attention and tinkering with your hardware.

A cloud-based solution will typically include online support. This means that you can contact your partner quickly and, with a clear explanation of your problem, they’ll be able jump onto your system and help you figure it out. You can keep your distance and quickly get back up and running. Make sure to choose a partner that has your back so when you reach out, you know they’ll lend a hand.

Using the right technology can help us through challenging times. It’s even more powerful when used before a crisis strikes.

As the disability and aged care industries continue to digitally evolve, new challenges will demand new technology. With this, now is a good time to prepare and get better business ready. Partner with the right technology and use a secure cloud-based healthcare platform. You’ll have the best support possible to maintain the health of your team and the safety of the community you serve.