Adopting new technology is never easy, especially in a fast-paced business like home care. Even technology that can streamline patient care and improve the efficiency of managing an agency has been slow to gain traction. Often times, investing in technology will cost agencies upfront and introduce integration considerations. Then – of course – there is the dreaded learning curve of new software that could be too much for their caregivers.

But these old adages apply here: “nothing ventured, nothing gained” and “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second best time is now.” Upfront costs, integrations, and trainings for new technology might not always be fun in the short term, but the benefits agencies receive will be worth it in the long run. And although a lot of the software programs used today weren’t around 20 years ago, agencies should look at their needs and the technology that’s available now and get started with implementation sooner, rather than waiting a while only to realize they could and should have implemented certain tech years before.

On top of that, the reality is that a lot of technology that could be used to revolutionize the home care industry is much more common than agency owners and administrators might realize. For example, a survey conducted by AARP in 2020 found that smartphone ownership was as high as 62 percent among seniors aged 70 and older. If it’s their older staff that agencies are concerned about, they needn’t worry too much.

New advances in technology as well as what’s available today can help streamline the day-to-day running of home care agencies, which helps administrators and caregivers get back to the important work of focusing on caring for their clients and patients. So let’s zero in on how e-learning is making a difference for both caregivers and agencies.

First and Foremost, Caregiver Compliance

Keeping caregivers in compliance is difficult, and the regulations affecting training standards vary from state to state. Furthermore, traditional training practices are costly, time consuming, and inefficient. The tendency of agencies to squeeze training into one or two sessions often causes information overload. And then in 2020, caregivers were forced to adopt e-learning to accommodate social distancing measures after the world went into lockdown.

“The pandemic placed extreme stress on health care systems around the world. If e-learning wasn’t important already, now it has become mission critical for any health care organization,” said James Cohen, CEO of e-learning company, Nevvon.

Before he co-founded Nevvon, Cohen was the co-founder of a home care agency spanning across the United States and Canada. It was here that he learned of the many problems endemic to the industry, and he saw e-learning as a potential solution to those problems.

Better and Faster Access to Training Makes a Difference

The World Health Organization agrees with Cohen. In fact, WHO has been recommending e-learning for the global health care sector since 2013. The benefit is that caregivers can complete their training at their own pace, on their own time, while using nothing more than a mobile phone. For this reason and more, e-learning will benefit both an agency’s caregivers and their clients.

Giving caregivers an arsenal of tools so that they’re ready to work with a wide range of patients with varying needs will help ensure that they are confident and well prepared.

Caregiver Development for the Win

Better-trained caregivers are more likely to offer greater, safer care, have higher overall job satisfaction, and stay with their agency for longer periods of time. And e-learning positively impacts clients and patients too, as it will increase client and patient satisfaction, retention, and happiness since contented, experienced caregivers offer higher-quality treatment and better care.

Interested in e-learning software but don’t know where to start? Viventium can help! Visit our Learning Management page to learn more about Viventium Learning powered by Nevvon.