On Demand Webinar - A Social Care First: Discover the benefits behind HC-One’s implementation of Radar Healthcare and Nourish Care.
20 February 2024
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We are thrilled to share insights behind HC-One’s pioneering approach to a fully integrated digital care platform. Through seamlessly incorporating digital care plans from Nourish Care and Radar Healthcare’s event reporting and learning system into a unified platform, HC-One has developed a more streamlined approach to care documentation and provision. At the heart of this transformational journey is HC-One’s unwavering commitment to enhance the care and support provided to residents, ultimately resulting in improved outcomes and experiences.
Through strategic collaboration with Radar Healthcare and Nourish Care, HC-One has taken a significant step forward in its digital transformation journey. Together, we have revolutionised reporting systems with a dedicated focus on enhancing care across all of HC-One’s homes.
In this webinar, we provide a comprehensive overview of the vision behind the implementation, the benefits to users and residents, and offer top tips for those embarking on a similar journey of integrating Radar Healthcare with Care Planning Software.
Topics covered:
- Enhancing resident outcomes through seamless integration
- Discover how HC-One are successfully implementing Radar Healthcare and Nourish Care across 260+ sites
- Top tips and recommendations for others seeking to succeed in this area
"This is the first live launch and really highlights the power of joining up systems and not working in silos, but actually showing a seamless journey for all of our users and all of our frontline teams because technology's great, but it's only good if it makes it easy for frontline users to use it."
The Journey of Digital Integration in Social Care
Central to this transformative journey is the recognition that technology has the power to significantly elevate the standard of care provided to residents. By seamlessly integrating digital innovations into the framework of social care, we cultivate a more unified, streamlined, and impactful care infrastructure. This integration is especially crucial as we navigate the complexities of serving a diverse resident population, each with unique needs and care plans.
The essence of digital care in social care lies in the convergence of data, care plans, medical records, and learning outcomes into a unified platform accessible to caregivers. Picture the significant effect of empowering caregivers, such as the 21,000 committed professionals at HC-One, with immediate access to comprehensive care information. They would not only possess the resident’s care plan and medical history but also insights from past incidents and their respective resolutions readily available at their fingertips.
"It is important that we consider both the frontline users and our colleagues, who are using the system on a daily basis, along with the residents who will benefit from its outcomes. Our objective is to make their lives easier and streamline the information they capture to prevent duplication. Ensuring the integration of systems and preventing them from being isolated is essential. If we can eliminate the need for duplication, and resource issues such as searching for available computers, we can give carers more time to spend with the residents and provide more care."
The Power of Unified Digital Platforms
This consolidation of information does more than just streamline processes; it fundamentally changes the care delivery model. For instance, a caregiver attending to a resident who has experienced a fall can instantly access pertinent information to understand the potential causes – be it a missed medication, a recent health deterioration, or other critical factors. Armed with this knowledge, they can provide immediate, informed care, significantly improving the resident’s safety and well-being.
Furthermore, this scenario exemplifies the seamless flow of information through digital platforms. The caregiver’s observations and actions are documented in real-time, triggering an automated workflow that initiates investigations and, more importantly, captures learning outcomes. These insights are then integrated back into the care plan, ensuring that every caregiver thereafter benefits from the collective learning, thus enhancing care quality continuously.
"What I would say to providers is particularly with the single assessment framework now being implemented, CQC is all about learning. So it's all about moving away from checkbox docs, auditing, checkbox compliance to actually what is the outcome for residents and what have you learned and how are you going to put it right and make sure it never happens again and it doesn't matter whether you're one home or 200 occupants, the learning principle remains true, and if you can do that, you are absolutely going to nail well-led and you're also going to solve all your safety issues."
The Future of Integrated Care Systems
The integration of digital tools in social care is a stepping stone towards a broader vision of an integrated care system. It exemplifies how technology can bridge the gap between different care settings, creating a cohesive ecosystem where information flows freely and efficiently, enhancing the coordination and delivery of care across different environments.
As we advance, it is essential to recognise that the success of such integration relies not merely on the technology itself but on our ability to harness it to meet the nuanced needs of those we serve. The potential to improve lives through digital care integration within social care is immense. It promises a future where caregivers are empowered with knowledge and tools to provide compassionate, informed, and effective care.
In essence, this integration is a major moment in redefining how we perceive and implement care in social care settings. It’s about more than just convenience or efficiency; it’s about fostering a more responsive, informed, and caring environment for our residents. As we navigate this journey, our collective aim should remain focused on leveraging technology to enhance the quality of life for those in our care, ushering in a new era of integrated, compassionate, and effective care services.
"One of the things that's important with any partnership program is being able to work with others where it's not just about the technologies clicking together, it's about care providers being able to get us as suppliers around the table, which we do quite regularly to talk about what the real life challenges are around that technology. So working with the HC-One team and Radar Healthcare, we've been able to unlock some really good use cases for this integration and I think that's really important for any care providers."
Watch the full webinar to learn more about the integration of Radar Healthcare and Nourish Care at HC-One and what impacts they have seen on residents and users alike.
Webinar Q&A
The whole idea of this integration is to avoid duplication of work for front line users and also to ensure that that resident journey is managed in the best way possible. We want to make sure people on the front line are not asked to go to two systems for exactly the same information because that’s screen time back that they can be spent actually spending time with the people that they’re supporting.
Realistically, what would happen is someone on the front line as an individual service user/resident was involved in an accident or an incident, they would go into the Nourish platform, go and actually put that on as what we call a new interaction on that particular individual and to choose the Radar Healthcare incident that all the relevant pieces in.
One important consideration to keep in mind is that this form is standardised to ensure its compatibility across various organisations. It encompasses input from caregivers, people under their care, and details about incidents that are then relayed into the Radar Healthcare platform. This initiates a workflow within Radar Healthcare, prompting individuals across the organisation to examine the incident, assess potential areas for improvement, and implement necessary actions.
Learning from incidents is a crucial aspect of our process. It’s not just about understanding the reasons behind individual occurrences but also identifying broader trends and patterns. By doing so, we can implement actions, mitigations, and controls to reduce the frequency of such incidents. Essentially, there’s a cyclical process in place: an incident occurs, it’s documented in Radar Healthcare, an analysis is conducted to determine its root causes and potential lessons, and these insights are then applied to improve practices. This creates a feedback loop that enhances both individual resident care within the Nourish platform and overall organisational performance within the Radar Healthcare platform. This integrated approach allows for seamless access to pertinent data, facilitating informed decision-making at every level.
We need to consider where each organisation stands in their journey. Are they already using Nourish or Radar Healthcare, or are they new to both platforms? For existing Nourish clients integrating Radar Healthcare, there may be practical adjustments needed as they transition from collecting information on Nourish to using a unified form in Radar Healthcare, and vice versa. Additionally, we must assess the practical implications for organisations of different sizes. For instance, in the case of HC-One, where a pilot scheme is being implemented across the organisation, there may be a period where both old and new processes operate simultaneously, potentially complicating data management initially.
Numerous factors can affect the timeline for implementation. While the process is standardised, thorough testing is essential. Furthermore, the availability of resources will influence the rollout plan, ensuring alignment with the organisation’s timelines.Our aim is to meet the milestones set by our customers, but this requires careful planning and coordination between Radar Healthcare and Nourish. Each implementation is unique, so timelines may vary depending on specific circumstances.
The biggest hurdle HC-One faced when integrating residents’ data was transitioning from a single, detailed form to a more streamlined process. Initially, there were challenges with capturing the same level of detail they were accustomed to in web forms. However, this challenge ultimately led to a more efficient system where residents could provide narrative inputs, which enhanced their investigations. Their concern shifted to analytics integration, as they were now capturing data in multiple places. HC-One expressed thanks to Radar Healthcare for having facilitated seamless alignment between data sources, overcoming this hurdle effectively.
Moving forward, they recommend tailoring forms based on the project’s phase—whether it’s a brand-new form, retrospective fit, or bespoke solution—to ensure industry-standard consistency. This integration process, though challenging, has significantly impacted their organisation by establishing a standardised approach. Organisations embarking on similar journeys, especially on a larger scale like HC-One, should prioritise data consistency between Nourish and non-Nourish systems.
Planning and collaboration are key to navigating this process successfully.
Falls are a significant concern for all healthcare organisations, as they are preventable issues that can be addressed effectively. Radar Healthcare provides invaluable insights into falls, including our frequency and underlying causes. By integrating this data with information from active care records, such as dietary habits and medication schedules, HC-One gain a comprehensive understanding of residents’ daily experiences and health status. This holistic approach allows us to not only identify why falls occur but also proactively address contributing factors, such as medication management or hydration levels. While various detection systems exist, HC-One’s focus extends beyond mere detection to understanding and preventing falls from happening in the first place. Their goal is not to restrict residents’ movement but to tailor care plans based on individual needs and circumstances. By leveraging both Radar Healthcare and Nourish’s Care Planning Software, they ensure residents receive the support they need to thrive in their environment.
The majority of our customers, approximately 60% fall within this bracket. All care homes no matter the size prioritise delivering exceptional care experiences. Radar Healthcare plays a crucial role in achieving this goal by analysing incidents, understanding their causes, and implementing preventive measures. Our aim, as Anthony emphasises, is to ensure the highest quality of care for those we support. This vision aligns with Nourish’s objectives, emphasising planned journeys and driving positive outcomes regardless of the home’s size or affiliation. Ultimately, it’s about effective planning and striving for optimal care outcomes.
Ensuring acceptance by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is paramount for HC-One, which is why they adopt a co-production approach in everything they do. Their collaborations with Nourish Care and Radar Healthcare, as well as their medication management initiatives, undergo rigorous review to ensure compliance and alignment with CQC standards. With the implementation of the single assessment framework, CQC emphasises a shift towards learning outcomes rather than checkbox compliance. Whether operating a single home or multiple facilities, prioritising continuous learning and improvement is key to achieving well-led status and addressing safety concerns. The CQC appreciates our focus on extracting learning outcomes from every incident using Radar Healthcare, integrating holistic care planning through Nourish, and consolidating all information in one accessible platform for care staff. This integrated approach is a win-win for everyone involved, and they’ve received positive feedback from the CQC regarding its effectiveness.
The decision to replace their existing incident management system stemmed from an immediate need, rather than a specific reason. However, this was just the initial step in their journey. Reflecting on their approach, they recognise the fundamental importance of incident management as the backbone of their operations. Without a reliable repository for incidents and audits to uncover causation and learning opportunities, effective care planning becomes challenging. Radar Healthcare serves as the backbone, providing the foundation for subsequent stages, such as transitioning to online care planning. Their focus remains on building a platform that facilitates care planning based on learning outcomes, ensuring continuous improvement and progression.
“Our users have adapted well to the audit and governance process. We started using scheduled tasks to upload audits and documents that would be completed on excel or word to ensure they were completed on time and they had a home. We have some scheduled tasks remaining, but most have not been transformed into an audit or event. We use the rule in the system that anything that has a schedule should become an audit. The benefit of using the audits and events is spending less time on ensure the audit is complete and more time reviewing what the audit is telling us. Completing the audits in real time, on devices such as a phone as well as dropping actions directly into the Home action plan is also a fantastic benefit.” Chris Pearson, Digital Care Manager at HC-One.
“We currently use the inbuilt analytics dashboard to review these, but we are in the process of building more dashboards. We are trying to combine audits and events into our dashboards rather than jut looking at audits in isolation. For example or Medicine events and medicine audits will be combined into one dashboard for a better overview.” Chris Pearson, Digital Care Manager HC-One.
Currently, home managers at HC-One primarily focus on these type of incidents and events, which are logged directly into the system. This dual feeding approach ensures that both resident-specific incidents, initiated from the Nourish system, and other incidents like colleague injuries, managed through the Radar Healthcare system, are appropriately recorded. This setup caters well to our users’ needs. Additionally, HC-One offers flexibility in incident reporting, allowing for customisation based on the nature of the incident. For example, while resident-specific incidents are part of the web form, separate forms are available for colleague incidents. This ensures efficient and tailored incident management across different scenarios.
