Let’s break down what you can expect from caregiver apps today and in the future.

What Does the Future Hold for Healthcare Providers?

Healthcare will continue to play a vital role in America’s future. The population is steadily aging in a demographic shift that’s driving demand for health care services. 

While this might seem like good news for the care industry, the reality is that meeting this rising demand will not be easy. Labor shortages are a pressing issue that’s only made worse by the country’s aging workforce. 

As the nation lives longer and people wish to maintain their independence, the demand for home-based care services will increase. Family caregivers are already playing a significant role in supporting loved ones' health and well-being. Their importance will only increase.

At the same time, we can expect to see a rapidly evolving use of technology, such as wearable devices and AI. These cutting-edge tools will facilitate quality care through remote patient monitoring, data readings, and diagnosis. Agencies that make use of these tools will benefit from real-time insights into a patient’s health. With these insights, they will be able to optimize care plans and produce improved health outcomes.

However, this also represents additional challenges for data security and privacy. As technology plays an increasingly smart role in reading, processing, and interpreting patient information, the risk of leaks and breaches will rise.

Home care agencies face opportunities as well as challenges in the years ahead. Adopting modern tools will enable agencies to make the most of these new trends while avoiding the potential pitfalls.

How Caregiver Apps are Adapting to the Latest Trends and Innovations

Technological innovation is already helping care agencies respond to the challenges of staffing shortages and HIPAA regulations. Caregiver apps are adapting by:

Prioritizing the Caregiver Experience

While smart devices have an increasingly important role in human services, there's no replacement for human caregivers. Technology must help home health care agencies improve retention and better support caregivers.

Caregiver apps provide users with a way to achieve better work-life balance. In doing so, they make your agency a more attractive workplace.

With the right app, caregivers can set their preferred availability with a few taps of their phone screen. They can also bid on new jobs, which makes it easier to quickly fill shifts or find cover for sick team members. In doing so, apps empower caregivers to take control over their schedules. Your team can choose how much work they want and when they want to work.

Since these apps cut out the back-and-forth emails, they also help agencies to quickly schedule new patients and make the most of a more limited workforce.

The benefits of apps go beyond scheduling, however. They also ensure your team has access to the information and tools they need at all times. Your caregivers won’t have to frantically search through their emails or Google Drive to find a file with a patient’s emergency contact details. They’ll just have to tap a button. As a result, apps reduce caregivers’ stress levels and empower them to provide excellent care.

Improved Healthcare Privacy and Security

Protecting the privacy and security of patient data is already a pressing concern for health care agencies. As technology becomes more advanced, there will be a need for more rigorous data privacy and security controls.

Home health is particularly vulnerable to HIPAA violations, since caregivers need to review patient health information while on the go. Data leaks can occur when staff members check their shift locations on the train or a caregiver’s family member borrows their cell phone to take a photo.

Caregiver apps support agencies in protecting patient data. With essential document management features such as cloud storage and password protection, they make your team’s mobile devices far less vulnerable. Your caregivers will be able to securely add, view, update, and share patient files in the app. You can relax knowing that you can limit access to files at any time.

Companion Portals for Remote Health Monitoring

As demand for senior care increases, remote monitoring will become more important. It will represent a partial solution to the issues of rising financial costs and healthcare worker shortages. 

While we’re not yet at the stage of issuing smart wearables to every patient, companion web portals and mobile applications are already playing an important role in in-person and remote care.

These web portals allow agencies to streamline communication with clients and their loved ones. They keep family caregivers updated on the patient’s mental and physical health, as well as their care plan. In this way, they support medication management and facilitate billing.

Clients and their family members can also use these portals to request additional health services or even set caregiver preferences. These tools permit a streamlined two-way communication that can enhance a patient’s care. 

A Caregiver App That Will Help You Meet the Challenges of the Future

ShiftCare’s home care software comes with a dedicated app for your care team so that they can update their shift availability, bid on jobs, and access patient data on the go. It’s a user-friendly and HIPAA-compliant solution for staff communications. And it also comes with a companion portal for clients and their loved ones, so that you can keep family caregivers involved.

Discover how the right caregiver app will allow your care agency to thrive. Try ShiftCare for free.