However, before you sign up for a new home care management software package, it’s important to make sure the product you’ve chosen is a good fit for your business. Which package or provider best meets your needs will depend on your organization’s size, objectives, and budget, amongst many other factors.

With that in mind, let’s dive in and explore what home care management software does and how you can choose between different offerings.

What Does Care Management Software Do? 

Put simply, care management software can help you handle:

• Caregiver scheduling

• Client information, including their care notes, goals, and updates

• Funds management

• Client invoicing

• Staff members’ attendance, time-tracking, and expenses

• Staff documentation and certification

• Communication with caregivers, clients, support coordinators, and clients’ loved ones

Modern care management software applications should offer different dashboards for staff, clients, and their friends and family. Ideally, you’ll also be able to integrate it with the other apps and accounting systems you’re already using (or that you want to use in the future).

How to Choose a Care Management Software for Your Business

Home care providers need software equipped with features that streamline their daily operations and enhance care delivery. Essential features include scheduling tools for managing staff shifts efficiently, real-time communication capabilities for instant updates between caregivers and management, and comprehensive client management systems that handle everything from care plans to medical records securely. Additionally, caregiver mobile apps allow caregivers to access information and update records on the go, ensuring continuous coordination and care. Integrated billing and reporting functionalities are also crucial for maintaining financial accuracy and compliance with healthcare regulations.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by choice, don’t worry. Use the following process to help you quickly evaluate different packages.

1. Outline Your Needs 

Before you begin researching software features, take the time to work out what’s most important for your organization. Some things you should consider include:

• How many staff members will need access to the software? This can affect the overall price you’ll pay.

• What are your main objectives? For example, you might want to make invoicing easier, avoid mistakes in scheduling, track client information across multiple caregivers, reduce time spent on administrative tasks, or create a more intuitive process for staff members. If you have multiple objectives, work out which ones have the biggest priority. 

• Which features do you need, and which additional ones would you like? For example, you might decide that you need scheduling and accounting integration, while home care funds management would be nice, but not necessary.

Once you’ve outlined what you need, you’re ready to review different care management software packages.

2. Compare Features and Support 

At a minimum, the care management software you pick needs to include all the features you listed above. It’s also worth considering the following factors:

• Ease of Use: Is the software intuitive? Does it automate processes and allow you to quickly duplicate tasks or settings? Will clients be able to use it, even if they struggle with technology? Will it make caregivers’ work easier, rather than harder? Think about the most common tasks that staff members and clients will complete in the software, and then run through how they’d carry out this work in each tool you’re considering. 

• Compatibility: Can you integrate the software with your accounting software or other systems?

• Training: Is training available? If so, how is it organized? Online or in-person sessions will give you the chance to ask questions. However, when you onboard new members of staff, you might find online videos and help centres more useful.

• Support: What happens if something goes wrong, or if you don’t understand a function? Will support be available at all hours, or just during office hours? Is there a phone number you can call? Will you be paired with an account manager who can assist you when needed?

• Security and Compliance: How will your data be held? Will it be regularly backed up? Do the software providers’ security measures comply with all relevant privacy standards and regulations?

• Pricing: Are there different packages at different rates? Will you need add-ons to accomplish everything you need within the software? Are there extra fees for more clients or users? And if so, can you upgrade or downgrade your package mid-subscription? Will sending an SMS or an email have a cost?

Once you’ve reviewed all the features, you should have a good idea of whether the software is, on paper, a good fit for your business. Your next step is to see if it lives up to expectations.

3. Ask for a Free Trial or Demo

Most home care management software providers will offer either a demo or a free trial. While a demo gives you the chance to ask questions, we believe a free trial is better, as it lets you try the software out on your own time, over several days, in order to see how intuitive it is. 

Create a list of tasks you want to trial with the software and try all of them at least once during your free trial. Ask some of your team to try out the program and give you their feedback as well. As you use the software, write down any questions that come up so that you can follow up with the provider.

If you’re still having trouble deciding, go back to the list of needs and objectives you created in the first step of this process. Which of the software products you’ve tested will best help you achieve the goals you laid out initially?

Deliver Better Care with the Right Care Management Software 

As a care provider, you have an enormous list of tasks to tick off every day: scheduling, invoicing, accounting, certifications, fund management, recruitment, and training… and that’s before you even get into delivering quality care.

Our secure and intuitive care management software will enable you to roster individual staff members and groups, review and update client information, issue invoices, track carers’ hours, and more. Even better, it includes NDIS price integration and can help you forecast fund spending.

Carers can use the ShiftCare mobile app to view their roster, mark their availability, upload certifications, and submit expenses and update progress notes on the go. Then, support coordinators and loved ones can see updates from you and other carers, including photos. 

Sign up for a 7-day free trial to see how ShiftCare can help you cut down on administrative tasks, while providing a higher standard of care.