Digital Care Plan Software for Nursing Homes in Ireland

It’s not just modernisation turning the tide on paper-based nursing home management. It’s guidance like the HSE’s Digital Health Framework for Ireland (2024 - 2030) roadmap, backed by HIQA, which outlines six principles for digital care, including digitally enabled and connected care “whereby everyone who receives care and treatment in [Ireland] will have a digital health record.” 

Pressure from HIQA and the HSE is fuelling digital transformation in nursing homes across Ireland as well as short-staffing and an increased volume of documentation means that smaller teams are under increasing strain to deliver. That’s where digitalisation helps and is the reason more nursing homes are switching to digital care-home software.

Digital care planning software is designed to move your paper-based documentation to an accurate and up-to-date record of your patient’s:

• Personal details and preferences
• Medical history and medications
• Current care needs, goals and risks
• Assessment outcomes, intervention records, progress notes and observations

Essentially, it creates a supportive plan of action for the people in your care.

Paper-based care home management comes with its challenges, like being difficult to read and being easily misplaced. Electronic care plans help your team to work more efficiently and give you better oversight. By recording everything digitally, you:

• Have instant access to insights
• Can provide proactive (rather than reactive) care
• Keep easy-to-read records
• Can provide an accurate trail ready for audit and HIQA compliant inspection
• Can directly link to other records and assessments
• Reduce time on paperwork
• Collect transparent records
• Improve the accuracy of your documentation
• Stay consistent
• Avoid duplication

Choosing the right software can seem overwhelming but there are a few key features that will make your choice much easier. If you’re running a nursing home in Ireland, you should also consider HIQA compliant software which helps you stay on top of requirements as an Irish care provider.

Look for clinical management software with a digital care plan module that has the following:

In-built care plan templates

With pre-made care plans already loaded onto your care management system, you’ll be able to quickly get your team up to speed with your new way of working and standardise record keeping across your staff.

Integrated medication tracking

Tracking, administering and monitoring medication is a key part of your team’s role and getting the dosage right keeps your patients safe. With paper-based documentation, you run the risk of human error and missing records can slow things down. Digital medication tracking or an e-MAR (electronic medication administration record) is essential to keep your patients’ care running smoothly.

Reporting

Integrated and automated reporting takes the hefty task of data analysis off your plate. Choosing a care management software with dashboards for high-level overviews of your patients will help you quickly identify trends and get proactive about upcoming assessments. 

Book a demo to begin your digital transformation with electronic care planning software designed for HIQA compliance and Irish regulations.

As well as keeping your nursing home compliant, digital care plans and online care management software takes the pressure off your team, helping them to do their jobs more efficiently and keep accurate patient records. A simple onboarding workshop or two will help to get your staff clued up on your new system. 

• Start by introducing the new software to your team and communicate how your migration process will work. It can often take a few weeks, if not months, to be fully set up on your new system.
  
  
• Set aside a team training day where you can do a walkthrough of the digital care planning system with your team, allowing them to ask questions
  
  
• You may find it helpful to do a broad training session and then create sub-sessions which are more specialised for staff members in specific roles
  
  
•  Another important session for all of your team will be GDPR compliance, what to do with old records and how to correctly store new ones

Even after all of that training, there will still be bumps in the road and that’s okay. Be sure to offer your team ongoing support so they know who they can speak to if they need more information on how to use the software.

Still stuck? Have a read through our blog on how to choose a digital care planning system.

Choosing the right digital software for your nursing home is important and will save you time, protect you from risk and give you visibility over the things that matter. This quick checklist will help you understand what you’re looking for: 

• Built-in care plan templates
• Integrated medication tracking
• Reporting and dashboards
• HIQA compliant tools and assessments

Access Care and Clinical is a comprehensive digital care management system which gives you full visibility of the people in your care and includes tools like medication management, digital care planning and reporting. The Access Group is also a member of Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI), the national organisation representing private and voluntary nursing homes, to ensure the highest levels of care and HIQA compliance for nursing homes in Ireland.

Transform your nursing home with digital care plan software designed for Irish regulations!