How AI Is Used in Healthcare
AI is being utilised more and more in healthcare, but it should never be to the detriment of the human touch. Healthcare is, and should always remain, a person-centred profession, using AI to complement therapies and care delivery without compromising on quality.
That’s what we believe at Helping Hands, prioritising our customers’ wellbeing as we support them to continue living in the homes they love. Our carers are incredibly compassionate and will ensure you remain as independent as possible while receiving the care you need.
The Role of AI in Home Care
At first glance, it may be hard to see a correlation between AI and home care. After all, one is inherently compassion-based, while robots and technology couldn’t be further from it. It’s hard to imagine how an artificial entity could have the empathy to support people on their home care journey, but AI can be used effectively in home care planning and in some cases, in service delivery.
For instance, Helping Hands uses technology, including the Access suite of products, to plan, manage, and deliver our customers’ care.
Benefits of Using AI in Home Care Consultations
There are benefits to using AI in home care consultations. This includes accurately recording information and ensuring that there are carers available to deliver the proposed care. Other benefits include:
Improving Accuracy in Assessments
The King’s Fund tells us “AI scribes are being tested in a range of settings across health and social care.” This will help to improve accuracy in notetaking, care assessments in the home and care planning across the board.
Personalised Care Recommendations
The NHS “is using AI to predict patients who are at risk of becoming frequent users of emergency services so staff can get them more appropriate care at an earlier stage.” This personalises the care process for the individual.
Improving Communication between Carers and Customers
AI can help with communication between caregivers and their customers when a person is non-verbal, English is not the first language, and for people who can only communicate via non-traditional methods.
Challenges of AI in Home Care
Challenges of AI in home care include accessibility for individuals who do not use technology at home and have no desire or ability to do so. Family caregivers may also be reluctant to install technology in a loved one’s home, especially if the person cannot make the decision for themselves.
Privacy and Data Security Concerns
Using AI in someone’s home can bring up privacy and data security concerns. Management of data will need to be carefully handled within the boundaries of GDPR, and the home care company will have significant responsibility to ensure the AI is being appropriately utilised.
The Need for Human Oversight
AI has a place in home care; however, it has to be monitored carefully. Caregivers should not presume that AI data is correct and accept it without question; rather, it should be a useful addition to human monitoring in the responsible delivery of care and support.
Is AI Becoming More Popular in Healthcare?
There’s no question that AI is becoming more popular in health care. AI is being explored to empower customers and service users to have a more tailored healthcare experience, especially within the NHS and other services.
For instance, the NHS is attempting to use predictive AI tools to plan where pinch-points in service delivery may occur, and plan accordingly.
There are hopes that this may “ensure that thousands of people get the support they need earlier, while also reducing demand on pressured A&Es.”
The Future of AI in Home Care
While there is undoubtedly a place for AI in home care, enthusiasm must be tempered with caution. AI should be viewed more as a complement to human service delivery, rather than a replacement for it. There are, for instance, ways that AI can help to reduce carer workload, such as using electronic care plans, medication charts, and daily logs, as opposed to having to write paper charts that are at risk of being lost, defaced, or altered. AI ‘paperwork’ can also be updated in real-time and uploaded to a central database or the cloud for safe and appropriate storage.
Preparing Home Care Providers for AI Integration
Responsible home care providers should already be planning how best they can use AI or be utilising it for appropriate aspects of their care planning and delivery. At Helping Hands, we already make the most of AI in many aspects of our business, including both frontline and behind-the-scenes operations. We have always believed in person-centred care first and foremost, and that human interaction is the best way to ensure our customers are happy and comfortable at all times.
Explore a Free Home Care Consultation with Helping Hands
AI could never replace our carers, and we wouldn’t dream of suggesting it could! What AI can do is make operating procedures less time-consuming for our care teams, allowing them to spend less time on paperwork and more time with their customers. We’ve been putting our customers first since we were established in 1989, and we’ve built on firm family roots to grow our business to encompass 155 branches across England and Wales today.
If you or one of your loved ones would like to explore a free home care consultation for either visiting or live-in care, get in touch with us, and we’ll guide you through the whole process. We’re the UK’s most trusted private home care provider, but don’t take our word for it, have a look at some of our 4000 complimentary Trustpilot reviews to see the difference we’ve made to so many people.
