The Future of AI in Homecare.

Perhaps understandably given that artificial intelligence (AI) is a relatively recent innovation, homecare providers, in common with other health and social care services, are both excited and concerned about its use in the workplace.

On the one hand AI promises to revolutionise the way in which we plan and deliver care because of the ways in which it identifies and can create efficient ways of working and spot deviations from what is normal for a Service User. While on the other hand it tends towards not being person-centred nor holistic in its approach – this being a product of the fact that it is objective and lacks both discretion and empathy and that it requires input to develop more complex and subtle algorithms.

In this blog, we will briefly consider some of the ways in which AI can change the face of homecare in the UK with a view to both its potential benefit and the challenges which arise from its use. You are also invited to have a look at and try out for yourself the Bettal AI assistant, which was created specifically to support care quality commission (CQC) registration for domiciliary care providers.

AI in the office

There is little doubt that because of its advanced capabilities and ability to work efficiently that AI can support the back-office functions of any homecare agency. AI is already in use in many companies who are seeing the benefit of automated rotas which:
• Cover the needs of Service Users.
• Can learn and integrate the preferences and availability of staff members.
• Deploy staff in ways which reduce travel times ensuring care staff are with Service Users at the allotted time.

Unlike humans, AI is error free, that is assuming the data inputted for it to use in decision-making is correct.

AI assistants will also calculate and store scheduling information and visit timings, so that care coordinators and registered managers can demonstrate compliance with contracts and undertake payroll functions efficiently and effectively.

AI can be used to both generate and schedule and detect missing audits. For example, AI can use data from digital care management software to monitor intervention completion rates, visit arrival and departure times among other tasks.

AI in care

As identified in the introduction, the use of AI to create care plans can be problematic as it has no discretion, lacks empathy and tends towards creating plans which suit an ‘average’ person, when anyone working in care knows that no such person exists. That said AI can be used to generate advice and recommendations for care which can be assimilated into a care and support plan. AI can also be used to create care plans using inputted Service User assessment data which should be subject to a thorough review to ensure the content it creates is correct and person-centred.

In a similar vein, while AI can be used to write policies and procedures, it is important these are revised to ensure they reflect the service user types supported as well as the cultural requirements of the population the agency serves. In the future, AI will be used to generate answers to questions care staff pose in real time by learning the content of policies and using these to inform carer actions when out in the community, for example in response to carers asking it intervention related questions.

Already, and increasingly in the future, AI will be used for monitoring the health of Service Users and will use this data to detect and predict changes in their health through the use of wearable monitoring devices and other sensors. Health and social care providers can use these data to monitor medication regimes and effectiveness and enable timely interventions such as scheduling early appointments with healthcare professionals when something is not right.

AI can also be used, alongside sensors, to detect falls and raise the alarm. This can prove especially useful for people who live alone or people who live with cognitive impairment or who find communication difficult. Much of this technology is already available, for example in falls detecting watches and pendants which are set to become increasingly sophisticated and integrated with AI.

Readily available virtual assistants (VAs) can be used to prompt people to undertake tasks such as taking a drink, moving about and taking medication. In the future devices will be able to monitor if and when people take their medication.

There is also some AI already in use which interacts with people and can detect subtle changes in their demeanour and cognition thus helping to predict loneliness and the onset of depression or other cognitive changes. Similarly, some AI can detect changes in the language and content of care notes flagging up issues of neglect or the decline in health of the Service user.

A Note of Caution

While AI may appear to be a panacea for many of the challenges facing hard-pressed homecare providers it does, inevitably, create some regulatory and compliance challenges. In their guidance to General Practitioners (GPs) the CQC, raise a number of issues which may be pertinent to homecare providers including:
• AI may, in some instances, such as when it is used in clinical decision making, be classed as a medical device and so selection of the right AI is important.
• There are complications related to data protection when using third-party AI tools.
• Service Users should have their consent sought for the use of AI in the planning and undertaking of their care

Summary

We have seen in this blog that AI has an important role in empowering the provision of care both from the home care provider office and in the home. Its purpose is to enhance care and make its provision more efficient and effective and not to replace what humans do. As such AI is an adjunct to care coordination and delivery and, used wisely, will serve to create more time for CQC registered managers and carers to focus on person-centred care delivery.

One example of AI, Bettal’s AI registration assistant, empowers potential care providers to focus on what matters most—providing compassionate and effective care—by simplifying the registration process. It provides 24/7 support for anyone embarking on CQC registration in the homecare sector enabling potential registrants to complete their registration documents at a time and pace to suit them.

Bettal has a well tried and tested suite of policies, procedures, risk assessments, and documents which are available to help social care providers in providing care. These include policies covering issues such as person-centred care planning and responding to people’s needs which will help providers in terms of planning and providing care.

If you would like to know more, browse our website or get in touch:

Email: info@bettal.co.uk
Telephone: 01697741411

Peter Ellis MA MSc BSc (Hons) RN
Consultant
Bettal Quality Consultancy