Why icon-driven care notes are more person-centred

Care that puts people first

Want to learn more about Person Centred Software’s icon-driven care notes? You've come to the right place! In this article, we explain why icon-driven care notes are more person-centred. We also discuss how they save care workers time and improve accuracy whilst increasing the number of care notes recorded.  

Working in a person-centred way involves working in partnership with the individual to plan for their care and support. Person Centred Software’s Digital Care System was developed to meet this requirement. The digital care planning system reduces the time it takes to physically transcribe care notes, enabling the care team to record information at the point of care whilst reducing the risk of errors. 

So, what are icon-driven care notes?

Person Centred Software's icon-driven care notes feature was specially designed with care workers in mind. The icons are central to the Care App's design, allowing care workers to record care notes quickly and accurately, leading to more care notes recorded and more time with residents.  

Care providers using the Digital Care System evidence, on average, over 50 quality care notes per resident per day, which is impossible on paper and many other systems. 

For Example: If a carer bathes a resident, the carer can press the bath icon listed on the dashboards Care App; this pre-populates a care note, allowing the carer to add more detail if they wish. The carer can then input how long the bath took (by selecting the up or down arrows below) and add what type of bath the resident had, what level of help was needed and whether the resident was happy or unhappy, using the icons on the left.  

Suppose the carer wanted to report something unusual, an accident, incident or h/o; a dropdown will appear for the carer to either fill in manually or record the notes using the speech-to-text feature. With the speech-to-text feature, carers can accurately convert their voice to text without having to type on the handset.  

Our primary goal was to create a universally understandable icon set that is:

• Recognisable by a majority of users from all backgrounds, experiences and languages
  For example, if English is not the carers' first language, they can click on the icons which write the care notes for them, meaning evidencing care notes becomes much faster.  
• Easy to learn and quick to use (encouraging users to use the icon set)
• Understandable and requires as little thought as possible when searching or using them  
  
  

Designed to give carers more time to spend with residents 

Icon-driven care notes are more person centred because they are designed to give carers more time.  With pre-populated care notes and an icon-driven interface, medical records and care notes are kept up to date efficiently and accurately. As a result, care providers can perform better, allowing more time for carers to spend with residents and providing the best care environment for all. Furthermore, the risk of losing information is eliminated as data is recorded in one central portal, which can be viewed anytime by anyone with access.  

Add and update resident care notes in just a few clicks - the benefits  

• Saves time writing care notes at the point of care     
• Improves accuracy and the number of care notes being recorded     
• Carers of any digital skill level can quickly and easily use the software    
• Can be used by everyone, even if English is not your first language, you have dyslexia, or haven't used a smartphone before 
  
  

See what our customers have to say about our icon-driven care notes:  

"The system has massively improved the safety of new admissions and alerted care workers of our residents' care needs. In addition, the system's icon-based interface is amazing and helps staff document care much faster."  
- Jo-Ann Liptrott, Care Home Manager, Haslingden Hall (Amicura)  

‘’I love it; it’s quicker and easier, and you can’t lose paperwork. You can click the icons, and it writes the care note for you.’’
- Toni Hanchant, Senior Support worker, The Arbory Residential Home 

“The software is really easy to use, and our staff love it, especially because the handheld device allows carers to record the care using icons and voice recognition as they go through the day. They’re so pleased they no longer have to sit behind a computer for a long period of time at the end of the day, trying to remember what exactly they’ve done. This has been a huge change for our care staff, and we’ve seen an uplift in documentation as a result. Our carers now acquire about 50 care notes per day per resident, whereas they used to acquire only about 5.’’
- Ernie Graham, Owner, Graham Care

“As it is icon-based and easy to use, staff save time on documentation, so they have more time to care. Using paperwork, we struggled to ensure that all fluid and turning charts were completed accurately and on time but using Mobile Care Monitoring has greatly improved the accuracy of our records. Now we have detailed records and can prove what we are doing for residents.”
- Adrian Hendry, Director, Avondale Care Scotland