RFID in Residential Care

iConnect is a revolutionary mobile working solution enabling realtime communication between care workers and office staff.
Based on the latest Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled mobile phones, iConnect delivers live schedules and service user information to care workers, whilst providing verifiable arrival and departure times to office staff in real time. It’s easy to use, secure and, most importantly, completely non-intrusive for service users. What is NFC?
Near Field Communications (NFC) is a short-range wireless technology that enables two nearby devices to communicate with each other – similar to Bluetooth – and is used with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tagging technology. The NFC functionality in the phone is able to talk to RFID ‘tags’ placed discreetly in the service users home. This allows iConnect to communicate with the phone to transmit and receive the required information. The NFC technology in the mobile phone offers two crucial advantages over traditional barcode or ‘geo-fencing’ systems.
Firstly the NFC scanning uses a uniquely secure system that cannot be copied like barcodes or open to inaccuracy like geo-fencing technology. The system is non-invasive and un-corruptible giving confidence that each property has been entered and service levels are being met.
Secondly the NFC chip on the mobile phone only becomes operational when it needs to be scanned, unlike geo-fencing technology that needs to be in operation for long periods at a time. This vastly improves the performance of the mobile phone while giving greater reliability to care staff and again greatly improves levels of service.
iConnect allows actual arrival and departure times to be recorded with proof of location as care workers simply touch their mobile phone against small Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags placed in each service user’s home. The data collected is fed back to the rostering system in real time and updates bookings with actual service delivery information, essential for the effective management of service delivery and streamlining financial processes. Real-time alerts for late arrivals allow office staff to be proactive and keep service users informed, whilst improving lone worker safety.
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How it works in the office
By placing an individually assigned RFID tag at a service user’s home, office staff are able to see in real time where their field workers are by way of a live visit display. This allows head office to view a live display of which care worker is with which service user and which calls are at risk of being late or overrunning. Because this is live information a crisis may be averted and issues addressed before they become emergencies.
StaffPlan is the only supplier in the UK to have written each of these components in-house, and to provide them as a single and entirely seamless suite of applications. This approach presents major advantages.
From an operational perspective:
• The significant cost, risk and delays associated with the batch transfer of data from disparate systems can be entirely removed;
• Real-time monitoring is now possible, so alerts and alarms are triggered faster and more accurately than was previously possible;
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are measured in one place, in real time and before issues become crises. This allows a better and more responsive service;
Logistically, the fact that a single supplier is involved brings clear advantages in that:
• The authority may utilise a single support service, reducing recurring fees and delivering faster issue resolution;
• System conflicts are removed, meaning materially less downtime and greater productivity;
• Data integrity is improved, reducing errors and liability;
• No arguments are generated over who owns which system problem
Care workers simply touch-in with their NFC-enabled phone when they arrive, and touch-out when they leave. As they do this, iConnect records the time, identifies the service user and the care worker and relays this information automatically to the scheduling system, eliminating the need to manually confirm bookings. If the mobile phone is out of range, iConnect stores the information and relays it when full service is reconnected.
In the case that a care worker does not touch-in at a booking start time, iConnect will raise an appropriate alarm. This can be in the form of a pop-up desktop alert, text message or email to the appropriate manager.
As iConnect is fully integrated with the scheduling system, office staff can keep care workers up to date with scheduling changes. When used in conjunction with StaffPlan Roster, notes and messages are also shared, allowing office staff to keep care workers fully informed at all times. With the integration between iConnect and the scheduling system, office staff are able to reassign an absent care worker’s bookings and the changes made to other care workers’ schedules are available to them immediately through their mobile phone.
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How it works for care workers
Care workers are assigned an ID card, equipped with an individually assigned RFID tag, which allows them to touch-in with their NFC enabled phone to view their schedule. Details of each booking, including service user contact details, tasks to be completed and any special instructions, such as access details, are available at the touch of a button, eliminating the need for paper rosters and time sheets.
Care workers simply touch-in upon arrival at a service user’s home and touch-out when they leave, giving them maximum contact time with the service user. The NFC technology uses a unique system that cannot be copied like barcodes or open to inaccuracy like geo-fencing technology. The system is fully secure and un-corruptible giving full confidence that entry has been gained to each property and service levels are being met. iConnect delivers full functionality to care workers even when it’s offline. Ease of use
iConnect uses standard mobile phone navigation, so users will be able to navigate through the various functions of iConnect easily and with minimal training. Uniquely, the NFC chip on the mobile phone only becomes operational when needed to be scanned, unlike geo-fencing technology that needs to be in operation for long periods at a time. This vastly improves the performance of the mobile phone while giving greater reliability to care staff.
Although iConnect is designed for NFC enabled phones, the software also works on any Javaenabled phone, giving users full access to iConnect. Real-time monitoring
As care workers touch-in with their NFC-enabled phone when they arrive at a service user’s home and touch-out when they leave, the information is relayed through iConnect to the scheduling system. This allows office staff to keep up to date on care workers’ whereabouts.
If a care worker does not touch-in at a booking within a designated time, office staff are alerted allowing them to react swiftly. iConnect keeps office staff and field workers in touch with one another and with your clients. Seamless integration to scheduling systems
When changes are made to care workers’ schedules in the office, for example if a care worker is sick, the changes are relayed in real time from the scheduling system to iConnect and to the relevant care worker’s mobile phone.
iConnect is integrated with supported scheduling systems, such as StaffPlan Roster. When a care worker touches in and touches out at a service user’s home, the booking, time, identity of the service user and the identity of the care worker is confirmed through iConnect to the compatible scheduling system, eliminating the need to manually confirm bookings.
iConnect
For more information About Advanced Health & Care Advanced Health & Care is a leading supplier of IT management systems for urgent & unplanned care, homecare, residential care, hospices, mobile information for community carers and back-office management systems for NHS trusts, local authorities and care providers. Working with partners in the NHS, local government and the private sector, Advanced Health & Care is delivering IT solutions in support of safe, efficient care delivery with integrated management information. Advanced’s unique proposition is its range of integrated care solutions offering visibility of information for both the commissioner and care provider. The Advanced Health & Care suite of products includes: Adastra, Adastra 111, Advanced Community, Advanced Mobile Communications, Carenotes, Caresys, Crosscare, eFinancials Smart Business Suite, iConnect, iNurse, & Staffplan. Contact us Unit 4 Eurogate Business Park I Ashford I Kent I TN24 8SB t: +44 (0)1233 722 700 f: +44 (0)1233 722 701 e: [email protected] www.advancedcomputersoftware.com/ahc
Legal information Advanced Health and Care is part of Advanced Computer Software Group. Registered in England, company number 02939302. Registered office: Munro House I Portsmouth Road I Cobham I Surrey I KT11 1TF. Advanced Health and Care recognises the trademarks of other companies and their respective products in this document.
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Security
With iConnect, field workers don’t need to carry hard copy files on service users containing sensitive information. The information they need for a booking is sent directly to their mobile phone but can only be securely accessed when they log in with their personal tag.
As each phone and ID card is associated with a single care worker, the personal tag assignment and the phone assignment must match before iConnect will log the care worker in.
Additional PIN security can be used if required and the phones data can be wiped remotely if its lost or stolen. Lone worker safety
iConnect can be configured to raise alarms if a care worker is late leaving a booking, giving staff the assurance that a colleague will be following up if they are in serious difficulty. There are also obvious lone worker safety benefits in having a mobile phone with speed dials set up to call the office (or out of hours service). Latest features include:
• New range of user friendly phones offering a mixture of hard button and touch screen
• Check list of tasks to be performed during the visit, allowing care workers to ‘tick off’ as each is completed
• Variation reason recording
• Every iConnect user may also use StaffPlan Monitor (a landline service) at no additional charge as a backup service to cater for lost or broken mobile phone or no airtime coverage. This gives great resilience and means that you are always in control of your service delivery. Summary
iConnect is a fail-safe and cost effective tool that allows care providers to undertake more visits with the same number of care workers and can vastly reduce the administration time associated with managing timesheets and roster amendments, providing a better service at a lower cost.