Technology In Nursing Homes
Just because you care for the elderly doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from modern technology solutions. Do you know what mobile technology can do for your staff and your residents?
Who would have thought, even twenty short years ago, that you could use a little phone to do work instead of a big clunky computer? That’s today’s reality and tomorrow’s norm.
With this new wave of change in the workplace, there come many benefits to healthcare professionals – but only if they know how to use them effectively,
The ever-rising ubiquity of mobile devices among private consumers has quickly led to them being used for healthcare organizations as well – but more often than not, this means hospitals and active practices. It’s less likely that you’d think to implement mobile solutions at a nursing home, right?
Mobile devices have made it easier and easier to get work done while on the go, with smartphones providing a simple way to communicate and collaborate. Have you taken full advantage of what this technology has to offer?
The Benefits Of Mobile Technology
Embracing mobile technology can offer benefits to both you, your staff and your residents.
- Organizational Benefits: Having your staff use their own personal devices for work means that you don’t have to pay for the technology they’d be using otherwise. Depending on the size of your practice, that could mean potential savings of thousands of dollars that would have been necessary to pay for tablets and work phones.
- Staff Experience: Allowing your staff to use their technology also means there’s no pesky learning curve to overcome with new devices. Instead of having to ensure your staff knows how to use the hardware at work, they can simply use the phone, tablet and/or laptop they’re already familiar with.
- Resident Experience: When used properly, modern technology will allow them to communicate with loved ones, spend their free time learning and engaging with new content on a variety of platforms, and maintain a degree of independence and competence during this stage of their life.
However, despite these considerable benefits, you shouldn’t necessarily rush to adopt mobile technology without taking the right steps…
How To Effectively Implement Mobile Technology
- Develop Plans & Processes
Implement Mobile Device Management and Bring Your Own Device policies that allow employees to use their own devices in combination with the organization’s – be sure to equally prioritize the convenience of access with security.BYOD is a organizational policy that dictates how your staff members use their personal devices for work purposes, prioritizing security above most other concerns.And don’t limit yourself to desktops, laptops, and phones – there’s more out there for you to take advantage of. Have you considered what the Internet of Things and wearable devices can do for workplace efficiency? Now’s the time to get on board – up to 20.4 billion IoT devices will be online by 2020. - Build Your Infrastructure
You wouldn’t want your staff and residents to rely on expensive cellular data when using their mobile devices, right?That’s why you need Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is essentially a lifeline these days. There are apps in endless supply to help you find Wi-Fi hotspots no matter if you are in an airport or waiting in the lobby of a doctor’s office.Instead of just setting up a few routers and hoping for the best, the right Wi-Fi solution makes sure that the specific needs of the business (down to the different areas and demand on the solution) are taken into account. The right Wi-Fi solution would allow you to scale the connectivity and available speed based on the demand and area. - Keep Your Staff And Residents Secure
Maintaining mobile security isn’t just about having the right apps – it means following the right protocols, to eliminate unknown variables and maintain security redundancies:- Review installed apps and remove any unused ones on a regular basis.
- Review app permissions when installing, and when updates are made.
- Enable Auto Update, so that identified security risks are eliminated as quickly as possible.
- Keep data backed up to the cloud or a secondary device (or both).
Don’t keep your nursing home in the past. There are so many benefits to be gained by embracing mobile technology for your staff and your residents – just make sure you do it properly.
