A recent article on the ABC website stated that Hospital in the Home program is to receive $34.5 million over four years in ACT budget).

This is partly driven by patient demand and partly driven by the strain of patient loads on hospitals. But as this trend is on the increase, it is more important than ever for healthcare businesses to be open to the idea of adding a mobile workforce. Some businesses, however, don't know where to start with this.

That's why, at HMS, we have done the thinking for you. Our software keeps office and field workers in synch, allows 24/7 fully secure information access, including to client’s records, manages bookings and cancellations, collects billing from the field, enables creation of on-the-go expenses and timesheets, creates customer alerts for delays and much more. It is also e-Health and NDIS ready. Basically everything you need to tap into this valuable market!

So what are you waiting for? It's time to go mobile today.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman released a report today with 23 recommendations to improve NDIS processes.  The ABC report highlighted key concerns of the Ombudsman report, including long wait times and poor communication.
 
Making the creation of care plans easier, and improving the ability of providers to effectively communicate with their clients has been one of the main priorities of our NDIS module.
 
It is our hope that by enhancing the quality of interactions between those living with a disability and the providers that deliver their care, we are playing a part in helping ensure participants stay informed, empowered and able to maximise choice and control.
 
We watch the impact of these recommendations on the industry with interest.  To read more about this report, click on the link below.
 
https://www.nds.org.au/news/abc-the-world-today-ombudsman-report-stresses-crucial-changes-for-ndis

Some highlights from this article created by the Healthcare IT...

"If we want for our healthcare system digitisation to be successful, it is imperative healthcare leaders continue to make cyber security and data protection a top priority."

"Businesses should take a holistic and proactive approach to limiting their exposure and vulnerabilities in terms of network security. This includes ensuring all operating systems and virus definitions are kept up to date."

"Mitigating your risk and exposure will help to put you one foot in front of the hackers and, most importantly, help to safeguard sensitive, personal information."

To read the full story click on the link below.

http://www.healthcareit.com.au/opinion/one-year-wannacry-and-healthcare-organisations-are-prime-targets-cyber-attackers

Businesses like Medibank Private are changing their offerings to meet the demand for in-home care. Are you taking care of this growing market?
 
If you aren’t sure how to expand your healthcare business to meet the needs of this market, HMS can analyse your current business processes and work out the range of solutions you need to make managing a mobile workforce work for your business.
 
Our software can create personalised profiles for all your in-home clients, automate the task of matching nearest worker to client, allow you to see the exact location of staff at all times and take care of invoicing, scheduling and quotes. Everything you need to deliver high quality in-home care.
 
Find out more about medibank's approach here:
http://www.afr.com/news/medibank-private-changing-lives-and-cutting-costs-with-chemo-at-home-20180216-h0w8d2

In this glimpse into the future, eHealth NSW's chief information officer, Zoran Bolevich says in this article:  “We’ve set ourselves an aim that in eight to ten years we will become a fully digitally-enabled and integrated healthcare system that places patients, carers, families at the centre, and consistently delivers great patient experiences and great patient outcomes."

HMS software is already doing this for our customers on an individual level, and we see the way having a single client record visible to all services, centralising bookings and automating processes such as handling claims and creating care plans delivers better care to customers in a greatly reduced time. It is exciting to imagine a scenario where our systems could integrate with a more comprehensive digital healthcare network.  We approach to this development with great interest.