Population demographics impact businesses and governments striving to provide appropriate services. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that by 2034, the number of Americans over 64 will exceed the number of children ages 17 and under.
As the population ages, the population’s needs also change. More Americans will require residential and in-home nursing care because elderly persons have age-related health risks. Fewer Americans may be driving vehicles because of deteriorating eyesight and waning independence. Senior home care providers seek ways to improve senior home care as the need for home care increases. Fortunately, data can help these providers improve senior home care services.
In This Article
How does data processing work?
Business professionals use data to decide what goods or services to provide and how to deliver goods or services. Data scientists and analysts use powerful computers and software to gather and process data, applying various techniques to answer specific questions. For example, if an analyst needs to determine how pet ownership will change in the next decade, they won’t evaluate unemployment trends. Instead, they’ll use predictive analytics to identify pet ownership patterns and project how these patterns will affect overall pet ownership numbers in the future.
Data scientists and analysts use data integration software to gather data from disparate sources, enabling them to work with data stored on company computers, the cloud, and external sources. Data integration provides analysts with a unified view of all data, improving data quality and expediting the analytics process. A superb data integration platform enables businesses to transfer data between departments and systems, increasing accessibility and configuring stored data.
Once data are processed, data visualization’s used to present information. Data visualization represents information in charts, tables, graphs, and maps, enabling executives, managers, and investors to understand the information’s significance.
What services do senior home care providers offer?
Senior home care providers look after their clients’ practical, personal, and medical care needs. One client requiring in-home care services may need help with house cleaning, pet care, and bathing, while another client may need an in-home care provider to give them medications and feed them.
Housekeeping and companionship services include companionship, transportation, laundry, shopping, light housekeeping, and meal preparation. Personal care services include bathing, dressing, transfers, and medication reminders. Medication services involve helping clients take medications, giving clients medications, and filling medication containers. Registered nurses (RNs) oversee medication services. RNs also evaluate clients, assign tasks, and oversee caregivers.
How does data help home care service providers improve services?
Suppose a home care worker named Jay works in a subdivision providing housekeeping, companionship, and personal care services, but they aren’t trained to provide medication services. Their agency’s adding three clients in the same subdivision requiring medication services, but the nearest medication service provider has a complete client list. Other medication service providers work farther away, which would mean they’d have to commute a considerable distance to serve the new clients.
Data analysis enables in-home service providers to evaluate the cost of training Jay to provide medication services, including training costs and a salary increase. They can compare the cost of having a current medication service provider commute from other areas to determine the most affordable way to serve these new clients.
Companies may also evaluate transit routes, identifying the routes with the fewest delays and accidents, enabling them to allocate enough time for employees to travel between client homes. Companies can also use data analysis to evaluate employees, determining which employees are consistently behind schedule or receive complaints.
Home care providers can turn to trusted news sources for unstructured data to add to their data sets, enabling them to consider home care trends, emerging home care needs, and ways to expand services.
Data helps administrators make informed decisions to improve operations and manage costs. Senior home care companies can also use data to schedule and evaluate employees.
