Dec 3, 2024

Home Healthcare Software: A Comprehensive Guide for 2024

According to the latest U.N. data, the number of people aged 65 and older is around 830 million. By 2054, this number is expected to grow to 1.7 billion. Most of the elderly population resides in developed countries, where an aging demographic fuels a surge in demand for personal home caregivers who can provide assistance with daily activities, medical care, and companionship.

Today, the private home health care industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the U.S. and Europe. Home care providers are thriving, expanding their services, and hiring more staff to meet the increasing demand.

Home health software is designed to help home health businesses expand operations and improve efficiency in providing care. These software solutions enable providers to manage scheduling, patient records, billing, and communication more effectively.

This article describes the key features and provides a detailed overview of home health software solutions. Towards the end of the article, you can find an exclusive interview with the founder of GoodLifeSorted, and elderly caregiving solution.

Let’s get started.

What is home healthcare services software?

Home health software is designed to streamline home care agency workflows. It simplifies hiring and management of home caregivers while providing clients with a convenient way to communicate with the company and provide feedback. It also provides healthcare agencies with Electronic Visit Verification functionality, which is required to prevent fraudulent visits and comply with U.S Medicaid regulations.

Key Features of a Home Health Care App

Hiring

Home care platforms help agencies optimize the hiring process. These solutions integrate advanced functionalities tailored to attract, evaluate, and onboard caregivers. Typical features can include:

Applicant Tracking System. An applicant tracking system allows you to customize templates for every stage of the hiring process and automatically send communications to candidates as they progress to the next stage.
Communication and Candidate Evaluation. The system provides integrated text and email capabilities for seamless interactions with candidates. Additionally, it can incorporate skills tests and background checks, which ensures a comprehensive evaluation process.
Efficient Onboarding. With an applicant tracking system, you can approve applicants and transition them to employees with a single click. This streamlines the onboarding process from candidate to staff member.

These features ensure that home care agencies can attract, evaluate, and hire quality caregivers efficiently.

home healthcare features hiring

Electronic visit verification

Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) is a solution designed to verify home healthcare visits. It ensures that patient care is delivered efficiently while minimizing fraudulent activity. EVV systems are integral to home care platforms, especially when it comes to compliance with the 21st Century Cures Act, which mandates their use for U.S State Medicaid providers.

The must-have EVV features in home care solutions include:

Accurate GPS Tracking. Documentation of caregiver locations and visit times with built-in smartphone GPS.
Simplified Routing and Timekeeping. Clocking in/out via smartphones, which makes the use of landlines unnecessary.
Detailed Visit Documentation. Recording of the date of the visit, clock-in time and location, information on the client and caregiver, as well as the type of service delivered.
Electronic Signatures. E-signing at the point of care.
Automated Documentation. Recording of necessary tracking information automatically and sending it directly to state or approved aggregators. The systems also normally allow to manually add logs and completed schedules.
Integration with Mobile Apps. Typically, EVV is integrated within iOS or Android apps used by caregivers.

Scheduling

Home care platforms offer robust scheduling functionality. Key features include:

Calendar Management. A clear, organized view of schedules by day, week, or month. Information on caregiver shift statuses such as open shifts, approved shifts, no-shows, and scheduled shifts.
Caregiver Recommendations. Matching the best-suited caregivers with clients based on criteria like requirements, specialty, distance, and availability. Caregivers can be notified via email or text message to fill open shifts quickly.
Recurring Schedules. Automation of the scheduling of repetitive shifts. This allows one to set a schedule only once and choose its frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly), which saves time on data entry.
Schedule Reminders. Sending emails, notifications, and text messages to keep caregivers informed about upcoming shifts, prevent no-shows, fill open shifts quickly, and communicate cancellations on time. A medication reminder app functionality can be integrated as well.
Conflict Alerts. The software can alert users to potential scheduling conflicts or compliance issues such as visit frequency or prior authorizations.

The scheduling features provide the necessary flexibility to ensure that patients always receive the necessary private at-home care. In addition, scheduling automation helps to reduce administrative load and prevent non-compliance.

Family care dashboard

Family platforms in home care systems provide a centralized and user-friendly dashboard where patients and their families can access vital information such as care schedules, invoices, and agency communications. Here are some of the features a famly care dashboard can include:

Caregiver schedules. Allows families to review caregiver schedules, historical and upcoming visits, including caregiver names, tasks, visit dates, and times.
Financial Management. Allows clients to track their care expenses by providing access to invoices and payment statuses. The app can also allow direct payments through the dashboard.
Communication Tools. Facilitates secure messaging with the home care agency. The client can share documents, request shifts, and note caregiver preferences and peculiarities of the tasks.
Care Documentation. Provides up-to-date care notes and activities for better transparency.
Satisfaction Tracking. Includes surveys to track overall satisfaction after each visit.

Overall, a care dashboard provides clients with a peace of mind and improves the quality of communication between agency and client.

Billing and claims processing

Home care platforms offer comprehensive billing and payment functionalities designed to streamline financial management for agencies. These platforms simplify complex payroll processes and allow agencies to manage payroll quickly and efficiently. Key features include:

Payroll Management. Multiple pay rates per employee; tracking of overtime, travel time, expenses, and vacation days.
Invoice Creation and Management. Filters by location, payer, client, service type, and date range. Status filters like “Pending approval” or “Partially invoiced”.
Accounting Integration. Easy export to QuickBooks.
Automated Notifications. Automated invoice alerts and automated billing frequency (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc).
Secure Payment Processing. Encrypted online payment portals; acceptance of electronic payments from various payers.
Claims Processing. Tools for error-free claims submission to Medicaid, LTCI & the VA.

These functionalities provide home care agencies with efficient tools to manage billing and payments while ensuring compliance and security.

billing and claims processing features

Analytics and reporting

Home care platforms offer reporting and analytics functionalities that provide agencies with comprehensive insights into their operations. The features can include:

Real-time KPI dashboard. Pre-built reports that visualize performance within key areas, including clients, caregivers, scheduling, EVV (Electronic Visit Verification), and CRM.
Custom Reporting Solutions. Customizable reports that allow agencies to select specific data sets, define field order, and set user-specific permissions. Reports can be exported in Excel, CSV, or PDF formats.
Dynamic Filters. Filters to explore specific data aspects and uncover hidden trends crucial for strategic decision-making.
Granular User Access. Controlled access levels for different roles within the agency, which ensures data security and privacy.
Recent Reports and Quick Access. Quick access to frequently used reports through the 'recent reports' feature.
Accounting Reports. A financial snapshot that tracks payments, receivables, revenue generation, client margins, and expense details.

These features equip agencies with the tools needed for effective performance monitoring, data-driven decision-making, and operational optimization.

analytics and reporting features

Home Care Software Case Study

A client reached out to Apiko to develop an app for home health care GoodLifeSorted. We developed a comprehensive platform that allows the agency to effectively recruit and manage caregivers, and provides clients with a user-friendly communication platform.

Here are the key features of the elderly home caregiving platform developed by Apiko:

Availability Tool. This core feature manages and displays carers' schedules and appointments, enabling dedicated managers to quickly find suitable caregivers and check their availability to avoid schedule conflicts and disruptions.
Caregiver searching and scheduling. Users can search for caregivers by entering their postcode and specifying service needs, such as type, preferred days, times, and visit frequency. The platform administrators then assign the most suitable caregiver based on detailed preferences.
Helper Onboarding Management. The platform includes a rigorous onboarding process, accepting only the top 5% of applicants. Candidates fill out forms, submit resumes, and undergo interviews to ensure they have the necessary social and communication skills.
Helper Profiles. Users have access to view caregiver profiles, resumes, and certifications. However, the platform's moderators make the final caregiver assignments, ensuring a perfect match tailored by managers familiar with the caregivers' strengths.
Accounting Module. This feature automates financial management, transitioning from manual Excel spreadsheets to an efficient system that handles report generation and monthly calculations for each caregiver and client.
Statement and Invoice Generation. The platform allows the creation of four document types—customer statements, helper statements, GLS invoices, and helper invoices. These documents can be easily generated and sent to clients and caregivers, detailing financial information and payments for specific time frames.

Overall, the platform successfully helped our client improve the quality of home care services, reduce administrative workload, and improve customer satisfaction.

home care software case study

Why choose custom software development

Home care services platforms are typically offered as off-the-shelf solutions or as custom software solutions. Off-the-shelf solutions are typically easier to implement and they require smaller initial investment. Custom solutions, on the other hand, have a different set of advantages:

Targeted solutions. The main advantage of custom software is that it’s designed to meet the specific needs of your business. Custom software is developed with features that your specific business processes require and without extra functionality cluttering the system. For instance, you can add features related to non-medical home care services. Additionally, custom software is integrated with existing systems, saving you money on possible transitions.
Scalability. With off-the-shelf software, you are limited to the plans offered by services providers. Custom software, on the other hand, can evolve as your business grows. This allows you to avoid constraints of licensing fees and limited features found in off-the-shelf solutions. When new features become needed, you can work with your custom software provider to implement the changes.
Enhanced Security. Custom software engineering services allow you to incorporate organization-specific protection measures, protecting your data against external threats. It can also reduce vulnerabilities common in widely used commercial applications.

Overall, custom software can be a great solution for an expanding company in need of business-specific software.

An Interview with GoodLifeSorted founder

Constantine Karampatsos, a co-founder & CEO at Good Life Sorted and our valued customer, kindly shared his expertise-based knowledge and industry-specific experience with our audience.

Hi Constantine! If I’m not mistaken, you came up with an idea of GoodLifeSorted when your grandma reached 96 years old and needed some help with daily chores. So the decision was motivated by your personal experience. What channels did you use to attract the first audience to your website?

Correction: My grandmother Zoe started needing help when she became 90 years old. So for 6 years we paid a neighbour to keep an eye on her and help her with various chores. This helped her remain independent up to the age of 96.

When we first launched our business we tried all kinds of channels, since we needed to experience first hand what worked and what didn’t. Failing fast when you do marketing tests is crucial if you want to spend your marketing budget wisely.

What challenges did you face in the early stages of starting a company?

It was obvious from the very beginning that finding customers or Helpers would not be the problem. Our main challenge was creating the right tools and the right processes to allow for scalability. We have big ambitions and it is important to set up your business for scale from the very beginning. We would do things differently every week, from Helper onboarding to customer payments, pursuing marginal improvements that would make all of our processes quicker without compromising on quality.

As we know, you carefully hand-pick Helpers to ensure the best quality of services you provide. Could you tell me about that process in detail? What qualities should a perfect candidate have to be approved?

During COVID lockdown we did some research among our customers in order to get a better understanding of how they perceive our offering. All of them mentioned they were really impressed by the quality of our Helpers. Besides the background checks, we are looking for emotional intelligence, quick rapport building, empathy and good listening skills. Our Helpers can hold an interesting conversation with older adults. But above all the main criterion is their energy and their motivation to help older adults.

Describe your mission statements into 5 words. What principles are prior for your way of doing business?

Our mission is to make the home of every older adult a happy place to be, one person at a time. The main business principle for us is to treat every customer and every Helper with understanding and compassion. We deal with so many people day to day. The only way to be successful but also to enjoy this journey is to try to be of service without judging.

What are the core benefits that differentiate you from other competitors?

We have separated home help from personal care. This means that you can get your home cleaned or get a lift to an appointment without paying care agency prices. So we are more affordable. We are also the UK’s first business to bring the sharing economy to the elderly. We can easily find good quality, local Helpers that are willing to help older adults in their community with reasonable rates.

Did the COVID pandemic affect your business? What measures should be taken to reduce its negative impact?

During the lockdown a lot of our customers could not receive any visits and that had an impact on our business. But in general COVID has made older adults more eager to stay at home and be independent for as long as possible. So the demand for our Helpers increased significantly after the lockdown.

Why did you choose Apiko for outsourcing your development process? How did you find us?

I found Apiko through an online search. I had been looking for a long time for a reliable technology partner and preferably one with experience building marketplaces. I have worked in the past with quite a few similar businesses, but I was not happy with the quality of their work. The key success factor for me is not the code or building the database. It is the communication and the project management. I found that everyone who works for Apiko has great communication skills. My project manager is very honest, reliable and fun to work with. These are the ingredients of a long term partnership. I was also looking for a company that operates in a professional manner with all projects, small and big. Apiko has excellent processes in place and is very transparent about them. That creates the necessary trust. Overall I would say that Apiko is great value for money.

Conclusion

Home healthcare application can provide the agency with the opportunity to optimize hiring processes, speed up billing and accounting, and monitor caregivers’ performance. Apiko has solid experience in developing healthcare applications, including home health software and healthcare workforce management apps. If you have a project in mind, don’t hesitate to reach out to us!