Technology can help owners drive up occupancy

Published in Care Home Professional

Jonathan Papworth, co-founder and director of Person Centred Software explains how technology is helping care home owners to be transparent with regulatory bodies, healthcare professionals and families to increase occupancy.

Driving up and retaining a high level of occupancy is the key to running a successful care home business. Many factors effect occupancy, but in a challenging environment, owners and managers of care homes are utilising technology to drive a high level of occupancy by providing better regulatory evidence, clear oversight, and sharing care information digitally with families.

There are indications of a correlation between industry regulatory ratings and occupancy. Greater visibility of care using an electronic care planning system helps care homes to demonstrate the quality of care during inspections. Clear oversight and record keeping using a digital system also means that external professionals find it easier and less time-consuming to review care or input into a resident’s care plan. By making their lives easier, care homes see a positive impact in their working relationships and an increase in word-of-mouth referrals.

Families choose the care home that they believe will provide the best quality of care for their family member. For care homes that are keen to differentiate themselves and offer reassurance and transparency to families, an online gateway that gives family members access not only to care notes but a whole social network for sending photos and messages to keep in touch is a big selling point. It helps put people’s minds at rest around the care their loved one receives, especially if the family do not live close by. People live further away from their families than ever before, so it’s a nice surprise for relatives to discover that the cutting-edge technology care homes use mean that they can keep in touch wherever they are in the world.

My advice for care homes using technology to drive occupancy is to select a software provider that shows you how its system helps you to meet and evidence regulatory frameworks, share information easily with professionals, and keep family involved in care.