A couple of years ago, data really didn’t excite me. I have spent most of my career working for small care providers with limited budgets, but in my current role I have a whole data and performance team and it has taught me just how valuable data really is for a business and I hope to share some insights with you too.

Real Time Monitoring

One of the biggest benefits has to the fact that data is reported in real time, allowing you to identify and address issues. One comparison I make to highlight the benefit is paper medication records vs electronic. When I used to be paper based, I would often spot check the MAR chart throughout the month but complete the full audit at the end of the month. Digital MAR charts would not allow staff to proceed until they had completed mandatory fields, would alert me when medication changes were needed, if the adults need had changed, if there were any discrepancies such as refusing medication. The difference in how quickly you are able to respond really is huge.

Auditing records with real time data allows you to track care outcomes, have timestamps of who has changed what and when, identify non-compliance, implement change to prevent issues from escalating and continuously improve your service.

Regulatory Response

Where to begin! I compare my last CQC inspection in my current role compared to that when I was managing the care home and just how much data the regulator requested. Staff files, customer data, planned vs actual visit times, compliance outcomes, lessons learnt, safeguarding data, training data and much more. It was so much easier being able to have access to data all in a couple of places.

After the inspection I reflected and thought if I was a paper based service, just how much work it would have been retrieving the documents, both from an office and archive, the scanning into the computer and then getting it to the inspector. The time and energy compared to data and digital solutions.

Auditing

I can’t write a piece for InvictIQ and not mention audits. This is not a sales piece, but electronic audits are a game changer. I love a paper audit as much as the next person but its hard to identify trends and reflect over previous months. Electronic data/audits allow you to view historical data and AI powered software like Audit on Cloud allows algorithms to identify patterns and predict future trends. The Key Questions Analytics at the Audit On Cloud platform, helps you see, show and tell insights from past audits, helping in refining future compliance processes.

I don’t think social care has a grip on AI at the moment but predictive analytics can play a crucial role in identifying potential risks before they become major challenges. This allows providers to make informed, evidence-based decisions.

Accuracy

There can be errors with data as it is still being inputted by our teams, however it has been proven these digital systems reduce the risk of errors and with checker reports and electronic systems getting more effective, they are able to identify when there are potential errors in the pattern of data.,

Accessibility

Centralised data allows quick and easy access to information, reducing the time spent searching through separate paper filing systems. It is not just the centralised storage but the ability to access the information remotely. In my role as a Regional Manager, I am able to ensure the compliance of the services I oversee from wherever I am. I often wonder just how hard this role would have been without the data at my fingertips.

Stakeholder Management

We live in a world of data and our stakeholders and commissioners expect this. Being able to provide data about our services to tell the story really helps with managing expectations and evidencing the service being provided. I have found that by collecting and presenting the data effectively, you can often give stakeholders what they want before they realise it’s what they want.

Final Thoughts

There are many more benefits to data and this is the tip of the iceberg. Again, not a sales blog, but if you have digital solution that is not working for you or you are on the start of a digital data journey, or even if you just have any questions about how digital and data records can help you and your organisation, I would definitely recommend reaching out to InvictIQ.

Look, I did just that and now I am writing for them 😊