From September, home-care provider Just Better Care will begin trialling Mobility Options, a mobile community care system that is said to be one of Australia’s first.

Company founder and CEO, Trish Noakes said the new system should increase productivity for customers and also assist carers.

“Mobility Options will be piloted next month through the Northern Beaches and Hills offices which is exciting news.

“The savings in efficiency for our offices are potentially enormous once the majority of support workers are on the system,” she said. 

The application forms part of health care software package Procura and it is compatible with smartphones, which means carers can both access and update client information from the client’s home. 

It will eliminate the need for carers to complete written time sheets and other paper forms, and it is designed to provide directions so carers can locate their clients homes more efficiently. 

Mrs Noakes said that by using this technology, the organisation should become more efficient, offering the best value for customers.

“The system will also mean greater sharing of information between carers and ultimately better continuity of care for customers – which has been identified as a significant issue for older people receiving help at home.”

Procura’s director of mobile solutions, Scott Herrmann said the company is both proud and excited to deliver the country’s first integrated mobility solution for community care.

“The benefit of an integrated solution is that the field worker has a seamless tie-in to the back office. The system integration allows for automatic client visit verification, which reduces processing time in payroll and billing.

“This automation ultimately reduces paper and manual processes, and allows the most up-to-date information about clients to be shared to and from the point of care,” he said. 

Herrmann explained the solution had been successfully introduced in community care in Canada and the United States.

“The results in these countries has meant a reduction in provider operating expenses due to the increased productivity of staff and administrators, as they are no longer concerned about collecting and distributing paper visit records.”

Noakes said the system would be implemented across the entire Just Better Care network if the trial was successful.

 “Training for carers will obviously be crucial to the success of the system. And security of information is also assured with secure log-in and passwords for individual carers,” she added.