Four ways technology can improve home care

Article supplied by Greg O’Loan, Regional VP, Epicor ANZ

SPONSORED — These are tough times for Australian aged care providers – the COVID-19 pandemic, staff shortages, greater public scrutiny, and evolving funding and regulatory requirements have all had an impact on the viability of the sector.

In fact, 70% of aged care providers are operating at a loss, according to a recent report by StewartBrown. Throwing a lifeline to the industry, the Australian Government announced in its 2023 – 2024 Budget an additional $11.3 billion to be delivered over four years, including funding for new home care packages and increased wages for staff.

However, as the Government’s home care reforms come into effect and changing preferences transform the sector, it will no longer be possible to be truly client-centric without purpose-built software in place.

Here are 4 ways Epicor’s technology solutions can help:

1. More minutes on care, less on admin

Every minute saved on back-office processing is time that can be spent on frontline care.

Epicor Senior Living allows providers to manage everything from scheduling and billing, to medication management and clinical documentation in a single platform. This frees up staff to focus on the tasks that matter most, such as building relationships and providing quality care.

2. Integrated compliance

The Aged Care Royal Commission’s final recommendations emphasised better systems and data to deliver better knowledge, greater efficiencies, accountability, and care. Epicor is committed to helping customers stay up to date with compliance requirements.

Community Care, a specialist module of Epicor Senior Living has been recently updated to meet new compliance requirements for the capping of care and package management charges — and we are working to ensure our software will meet the recently extended July 2025 deadline for the Government’s Support at Home program.

3. Enhanced care coordination

Your remote working staff are key to productivity and customer satisfaction in home care services. With built-in care management tools, Community Care, part of Epicor Senior Living, allows providers to evaluate scheduling, services, and ways to improve the bottom line as they deliver quality care. It includes smart roster development, travel optimisation, and supporting internal resources, contractors, group events, and transport.

4. Made with the industry, for the industry

As the only ERP vendor focused on aged care, Epicor is committed to the Australian aged care sector. We have more than 25 years of experience in the sector and over 50% of mid-to-large-sized residential aged care providers already rely on Epicor to ensure that they are providing the highest quality of care.

With some software companies withdrawing products from home care, Epicor continues to invest in the home care space and prepare for the coming shift in our customer’s software needs.

As the aged care sector in Australia continues to evolve, technology like Epicor Senior Living and its specialist modules will become increasingly important. With its ability to streamline back-end reporting, commitment to compliance, and enhanced care coordination, Epicor is helping providers deliver superior home care solutions at a most challenging time for the sector.

We created a framework called the Epicor Care Quadrant to initiate and guide this discussion and emphasise the critical importance of exploring the future role of home care in the broader aged care market and what that may mean for your organisation. Download the eBook to learn more.