Rethinking technology in today’s health care world

Remember the first technology boom in the 1980’s?

I do. It was the first time I starting thinking how we could leverage the power of the internet to improve senior care. At the time, I couldn’t image how that could happen, but the seeds of my current company – all online – were there, even in those early days of trying to figure out how a very personal, hands’ on service could in any way be improved by use of technology.

A lot has happened in the past 20 years. We’re now into “web 2.0” – defined by many as the use of technology to enhance social relationships. It’s also an age where we don’t assume that the latest website fad will take off like a rocket and be worth billions instantly; rather, we know that building a technology or web-based company takes the same kind of effort, focus, product and pricing work that any new company demands. Some of us are a little nostalgic about the wild valuations of websites…but I digress.

As senior care companies, it’s a good time to look at what technologies we use, and what we should be thinking about using, before another 20 years rolls by and we’re hopelessly behind as an industry.

Let me start with what is nearest and dearest to my heart: online learning. If your company isn’t currently using an online training company for at least some of your training, you’re missing some incredible advantages. You’re missing the reach of the web – into people’s homes, offices, worksites – throughout the world. You’re missing the opportunity to standardize your company’s training programs, quickly, easily, painlessly and affordably, company-wide.

One of the coolest features of the internet is the amount of content that is available, and how easy it is to find. You can research your competitors, your mom’s diagnosis and latest prescription, or your idea for a new business name as quickly as you can type it into google – spelled correctly or not. When you find a page or website of interest to you, you can email the link to a colleague on the other side of the world – and he can instantly go to the exact same site, seeing exactly what you’re seeing.

You may not remember the days of photocopying and snail mail, but believe me, it’s a new – and magical – world in comparison!

Whether you’re looking at corporate policies and procedures, or company-wide customer relations training, using the internet as the foundation of disseminating this information is just smart business today. It’s not revolutionary; it’s basic.

Another area of technology that we’re becoming involved in relates to finding – and hiring – the best and brightest. We never intended to start operating a “job board” but we needed a conduit to get applications for a state-wide program without requiring individuals to come to our office, fax or mail us a paper form. I must admit, we’re finally learning how to use less paper, and starting to ask ourselves “can we do that electronically instead?”

It’s a short stretch to electronic job applications. It’s a wonderful stretch, too. Many of you may have found how much fun and effective Craig’s list is for job postings. Post a job and start getting resumes in your email in-box within minutes. Review resumes, ask for more details via email and get a step of the process done – without ever picking up the phone. On our last hire, we even used a website that lets people upload their PowerPoint projects (free) to require all applicants making the first level cut to submit a work sample. It was free, cool, and gave us tons of information about the applicants before ever speaking to one. We trimmed a pool of 30 qualified applicants to 8 finalists before ever talking to one of them. We conducted 7 interviews (one dropped out) and hired one. Two others will likely do project work for us, too, before the year is out.

I’ll never go back to paper applications now that I know how much easier, faster, and effective it is to use the electronic approach. We’ll be rolling out the rest of our e-application website and offering it to you, free of charge, within weeks. Here’s a no-brainer. Won’t cost you a cent, and will save some trees (and, more importantly, some time).

Community management, records management, data management solutions exist and should be as much the norm as using QuickBooks or equivalent is to bookkeeping. If you’re still using ledger paper and a #2 pencil for bookkeeping, you’re probably wondering why you’re behind the competition; the same will shortly be true if your staff are writing care plans and progress notes by hand.

The world of business, especially in the realm of senior and health care, is changing so quickly. This current recession will likely spur even more changes, even more quickly. Where we can identify current “best practice” using technology, we better implement them now.

Then we might just be ready for whatever “senior care 3.0” brings.