Are you thinking of moving to the cloud? Cloud technology gives social care the opportunity to have on-demand care management. Whether it's carers on the road or in a home, or back office staff that might want to co-ordinate outside the office, cloud-based solutions provide anytime, anywhere access to your vital care information.
What is ‘the cloud’?
The cloud refers to on-demand access to IT software, storing your data online rather than a physical desktop. Meaning you can access your information anywhere at any time.
Why is cloud technology important for social care?
80% of all CQC registered providers need to have digital care records by March 2024. And we recognise that social care technologies should not only meet growing demand but can evolve to the changing needs of all people in social care. This means supporting your front-line carers, your non-clinical staff and your service users.
Many cloud-based software solutions are designed to be scalable to your needs no matter the size of your organisation or where you are working from.
You can most likely think to a time when you’ve scrambled looking for a pen that works and a blank page of a notebook to quickly jot down a referral enquiry. Or rushed to the office to grab some documents or log in to the computer to update a spreadsheet.
When you store data in the cloud rather than a physical desktop, it means you are able to retrieve much needed information as soon as you need it, anytime anywhere.
Having a cloud-based complete care business management solution means your office staff can adjust schedules to accommodate staff absence or changing care needs if they happen to work from home. It means your care workers can update digital care plans at the point of care using a mobile device. It means you can immediately amend an invoice even when you’re not on-site.
How does cloud technology benefit social care?
Flexibility and accessibility
Cloud based solutions offer a lot of flexibility, because they keep up with you even when your plans change. Perhaps you’re working off site, or your front-line staff need to review care plans via a mobile app. Cloud technology allows you to view and update records remotely so you can amend plans and accommodate unprecedented need no matter where you are.
And this greater accessibility gives your service users and care workers more control over their care delivery. Having instant access to real-time information allows for easier personalisation, helping keep your clients’ and your staff happy.
As well as this, cloud technologies allow for data to be added even when you’re offline, being updated once signal is re-established. This helps to ensure that care information is always up to date even when you’re caring for service users who live rurally, and Wi-Fi connections are limited.
Performance and reliability
Cloud-based solutions constantly monitor performance, automatically flexing-up at peak usage so you always experience maximum performance and accessibility, 24/7. Meaning that no matter when your staff are accessing the solution (whether that is from the office, from home or when they’re on the road), they can be assured that they will be able to view the information they need even during times of high demand.
Cloud technology also removes the need for on-site servers, with updates automatically conducted by your software provider. Instead of spending time and resource monitoring your own hardware, you gain frequent and seamless upgrades with little down time, so you can continue with your day-to-day tasks and caring for your service users without software interruptions.
Business insight
Cloud-based solutions give you instant access to your data, meaning you have real-time knowledge of your current needs even if you’re not on site. You can see where you have shortfalls in staff, what occupancy levels you’re currently experiencing or what invoices need completing or chasing. Cloud technology can give you this enhanced visibility because all your data is available to you in one place.
Cloud technologies may also offer visual dashboards and reporting tools that can help you predict future need. Perhaps you’re anticipating a high number of care referrals and need to scale up your recruitment in time to meet that demand. Cloud-based reporting tools may help you discover this need and what applications are in the pipeline so you’re in better position to work proactively, rather than reactively.
Data security and stability
Securing your data is imperative, and cloud-based solutions have robust processes in place to keep your information safe. When utilising a renowned cloud provider, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), your technology is scalable, responsive and above all secure. A modern Software as a Service (SaaS) solution is designed with high levels of security to detect internal and external cyber threats as well as encrypting your data.
For more information about Software as a Service, take a look at our blog: Software as a Service: What SaaS bring to Social Care
As social care works towards service wide digitisation, a cloud-based solution can offer you the key functionalities you are looking for as well as dynamic business insight you may not have realised you were missing.
Find out how you can have complete care business management using cloud technology with Care Cloud.