Use Paper Care Records? Here are 10 Risks You Should Be Aware of
Is your care service stuck with the time-consuming additional work that comes with using a paper-based system? Some care services continue to use paper care records because they seem simple to use, it’s easier to stick to their current routine and change can be daunting. For example, it can worry staff and time and training will be required to make the switch to a more efficient system.
While paper care records have been used for centuries, as time has moved on and technology has improved, the care sector has slowly realised that the tiresome and burdensome process of using paper records can be left in the past.
Paper-based systems can be time-consuming, inefficient and unsustainable, but why? And what’s the alternative?
In recent years, electronic care records are taking over physical record management and have proven to be extremely useful and effective. They can help you to improve the lives of service users, and care staff, boost your rating and save you money. The government is also pushing for all social care providers to have electronic records by December 2023, so the switch is inevitable.
At The Access Group, we’re ready for this challenge. With over 30 years of experience helping thousands of care providers make the switch to digital care records, we have plenty of knowledge and expertise that we’re willing to share with you. With our help, you can move forward fully understanding the benefits of digitisation and the best way to move forward with the change.
So, what are the risks of using paper care records? Well, there are many benefits to digitisation that can’t be matched by a paper-based system. If you want to know more about their problems and risks, we’ve highlighted the top 10 issues and taken an in-depth look into each one, so you can feel confident about the advantages associated with digitising your care service and leaving paper records in the past.
What are Paper Care Records?
Paper-based care records are a traditional method of recording a patient's health and care information physically. This could be on paper, discs, and films for example. This recorded information will need to be physically organised and stored within the care business and retrieved when it’s needed. They were widely used until around 10-20 years ago.
1. Require Storage Space
In a small business, having a handful of paper documents can be easy to manage and store. However, no matter the size or type of the care service, new information regarding the service users and the business itself is constantly being generated. Whether it’s filling in MARs (medication administration records), moving or taking in new residents, or planning out the work Rota for the care team, new information will be created or existing information will need to be looked over daily.
This means there will be a large number of paper documents that will need to be well organised and stored in a potentially small space. As the team or number of residents grow, this storage space will decrease or just become too expensive to maintain. Organising and looking through the information is time-consuming, and bulky filing cabinets can lead to physical clutter while affecting employee productivity. Digital records help to create an efficient, clutter-free workspace that’s easy to maintain.
2. Security Issues
Whether the care service is big or small, has a single home or multiple sites across the country, or focuses on residential, domiciliary or nursing care, the data and other valuable information must be well-protected. This ensures that the service users feel safe, many of whom may be vulnerable or require additional care. The care staff must know that their information is secure too.
A big obstacle that comes alongside paper records is the security risk. Paper documents are easy to lose, mishandle or damage when in use. It’s also hard to secure them against unauthorised access. However, digital records can be encrypted, backed up and safely kept on hard disks or electronic devices. Password protection can also be used to prevent internal, external or fraudulent unauthorised access.
3. Transportation is Difficult
It’s common for the circumstances of the service users to change during their time with the care service they’re using. For example, a resident may want to move back home or live with a family member or vice versa (they may want to move into a home). They may want to move to a different location, their medical needs could change or the home may need to transfer them due to lack of space or expertise. Whatever their situation may be, their records will need to be moved with them.
Transporting paper-based documents can be very complicated, slow and inefficient. If the service user has been with the care provider for a while, they will have a lot of records that will need to be sorted through and found to ensure the safety and security of this person. Multiple photocopies may end up circulating and if amendments need to be made, these will need to be reshared and confirmed before the final version is created. Finally, if there are many records, these will be bulky and harder to move.
It’s easy to overcome this drawback by going digital as records can be simply emailed or transferred over, or if the service user’s move is internal, the records will be accessible over shared software.
4. Can be Hard to Interpret
One of the biggest problems with using paper records in a care environment is the fact that they can be hard to interpret. Whether it’s due to poor handwriting, lack of information or misinterpreted acronyms, this can put the safety of the service users at risk and is one of the main causes of medication errors.
It’s also common for the layout or format of the information to become inconsistent from one record to the next. Even records that have been scanned, photocopied or microfilmed can be difficult to read, which can compromise data retrieval quality. Using electronic care records overcomes all these issues as custom templates can be made and used at all times, mandatory fields and questions can be created and there isn’t the issue of poor handwriting.
5. Amends are Messy
Amending records is common within the care industry. Whether it’s changing the work rota, a service user's name or address, or a resident's medication, dosage or prescription, amending any kind of paperwork can become messy and difficult to read. In some cases, you may need to rewrite the content, which can be time-consuming. It’s also recommended that copies of original documents should be made so all of the amendments can be distinguished, increasing the number of documents being kept.
When you switch to digital software, any changes made will be recorded and the original information will be automatically saved. This also means you don’t have different people using different versions of a care plan for example, as updates made to the care plan are ‘synced’ for all users.
With digital records you, other managers, or even an inspector from your regulator, can see what changes were made, when, by who. This makes auditing, investigations and evidencing progress and improvements easier and quicker. Imagine trying to find all that information out with paper records, imagine how much time and effort that would take. It’s also much easier to look through and pull up old records.
6. Expensive to Use and Maintain
Whether they’re typed up or handwritten, paper care records are expensive. As well as ordering in the paper often and making sure there is enough available at all times, you’ll need to pay for stationary, printers, ink cartridges, photocopiers, laminators and other office equipment the team needs. While it’s good to have these items available, using paper records drastically increases the amount they’re used and their running costs. As mentioned previously, storage costs rise as the number of records increases.
As well as the cost of paper, equipment and office supplies, the cost of paper-based document management is also expensive. Due to a large number of physical records, you will need more office staff to manage, organise and create the documents. And if records need to be moved, gathered or changed, this requires a lot of time and patience. Having more back office staff and the time-consuming tasks associated with paper-based records quickly adds up, becoming a significant expense.
For example, Bay Care Group, a home care provider using Access’ software reported saving £3,000 a month just on postage, printing and stationery costs, after adopting our care rostering and electronic care planning software. They also reduced their number of back office staff by 50%, giving them a saving of £75,000. To learn more read or watch the video case study.
While the costs of setting up, installing and training staff on new software can also be costly and time-consuming, the results significantly reduce the costs of back office staff and office equipment while boosting efficiency, reducing time spent on record keeping and use and reducing a variety of errors.
7. Limits Collaboration and Communication
When a care service works with paper documents, it limits collaboration and communication. For example, if several service providers across the UK need to create or access a common document, one of the businesses will need to create many copies printed and send them out. Then if they need to be filled in or changed, all the necessary amendments will have to be made separately and then the new version will need to be copied and shared with the other homes. This can take a lot of time and will cost.
This issue is eradicated when a care service switches to digital software. Digital document management systems will allow users to collaborate in a simple, quick and efficient manner. They will also track any of the changes that have been made to the records.
8. Bad for the Environment
We should all be doing our part to reduce our impact on the environment. When a business uses more paper, printing materials and office supplies, it won’t be doing much to reduce its carbon footprint. Many employees will pride themselves on working for companies that prioritise sustainability and during the service users' search for a care provider, being eco-friendly could sway their decision.
As ‘green’ trends grow in popularity, it’s recommended that you implement environmentally-friendly policies as soon as possible. If you choose to invest in digital care management software, the amount of paper your care service use will drastically decrease. You will reduce the amount of paper waste and reduce the disposal of ink cartridges and plastic stationery, which will also save money.
9. Prone to Damage Over Time
While digital documents aren’t completely indestructible, a lot less can go wrong with them compared to paper care records. It’s a lot easier to lose, steal or misplace paper documents. They’re more at risk of being destroyed in fires, floods or other natural disasters. If this happened, there would be no way to retrieve all of this lost, vital information. Paper-based record back-ups are possible but expensive.
However, no matter how organised you may be with safe storage, back-ups and whatnot, you can’t save your paper from the inevitable passage of time. Over time, the paper will turn yellow, the ink may fade and both can disintegrate. This can increase the risk of errors or mistakes being made while putting the service user at risk. When using a digital system, records of all ages will be safe, secure and backed up.
10. Time-Consuming to Use and Manage
As mentioned above, many of the tasks associated with using, managing and retrieving paper records are time-consuming. In the care industry, time is crucial and valuable. If most of it is being spent on admin, then the needs of the residents or service users may be put aside and the amount of time spent with them will be significantly reduced. Time is also money which can be better spent on things that will improve the lives of the care team and the service users while boosting the status of the business.
Traditional paper-based methods aren’t easy to access, distribution causes delays and organisation and management are laborious and tedious. There is also the issue of paper care records being error-prone, which will require time to correct and could have a huge impact on the reputation of the care service. Converting to digital software will reduce the amount of time spent using and managing paper-based records while improving their accuracy and reducing errors, giving care teams the freedom to do more.
Go Paperless and Go Digital
To summarise, traditional paper-based systems may be easy to use and the norm among many care services, but switching to a digital method will save you time and money and will increase the efficiency of the care team.
Care staff will have more time to spend with the service users, they can rest assured that they’re being paid properly and that they won’t get in trouble or cause harm to residents due to the reduction in medication and other record errors that could lead to mistakes. You can learn more about how to get your care staff enthusiastic about digitisation.
The care service will have more money to spend on their service users, providers and the business due to spending less on supplies and reducing the number of back office staff. They’ll be more likely to be awarded a higher rating due to better security and organisation, happier service users and fewer errors. The government’s target to digitise the care sector by December 2023 means that you can get a head start by making the switch sooner rather than later. Finally, going paperless is great for the planet, which will also improve the reputation of the business.
Service users can be reassured that their information is accurate, safe and secure. They will have extra time and money spent on them, improving their experience and quality of life. And if their circumstances change for any reason, they’ll be reassured that their information will be well-taken care of and all of their documentation will be moved with them.
With all of these advantages and more, it’s never been a better time to go digital. You can jump on the digital bandwagon by choosing Access Home Care Software. It includes electronic care plans, forms, eMAR (electronic medication administration records), call monitoring and more, so you can implement and integrate the perfect combination of digital software for your care service.
Or, if you provide residential care Access Care Home Software gives you a complete and integrated solution for electronic care plans, resident and staff management, full electronic medication management and more.
With over 30 years of experience working with social care providers, we will offer you high-quality support and give you the freedom to make it personal.
To find out more about our products, how to go digital and how to improve your service, feel free to contact us or book a demo. We will help you every step of the way and are always happy to answer any questions you have.
