As experts in interoperability, 2iC-Care are deeply passionate about all the ways in which interoperability will create better outcomes for service users and improve the efficiency of care provision.
In January 2023, 2iC-Care's CEO, Richard Keyse, published Clear solutions for clear outcomes which helped to define interoperability for the care sector and differentiated interoperability from compatibility. If you have not yet had a chance to read this, I recommend adding it to your reading list.
Today’s blog will dig deeper into interoperability to add colour to why, and how interoperability is the key to future proofing care.
2iC-Care's technology, Andi, delivers advanced interoperability in three ways.
- Device interoperability
- Information interoperability
- Process interoperability.
How does Andi deliver device interoperability?
When a tech enabled care service uses Andi to care for service users, a unique hub which contains the LSA technology* is placed in the service user's home. Andi uses this hub to connect to and instruct any device type within the home, this is device interoperability.
Device interoperability allows TEC teams to source relevant information or take actions to help service users remotely, this can be as simple as automatically turning off devices that are exposing a person to danger or turning on devices such as lights after an incident occurs.
To deliver this highly effective and personalised care, TEC services need to leverage technology solutions that integrate with not only the sensors that share limited information, but also with actionable peripherals designed to reduce the risk of incidents or assist after an incident has happened.
Device interoperability could be used to turn down a radio or television to enable the service user to hear the call centre or take a video clip or photo to evidence the condition of a person who has triggered an alarm but cannot speak to an ARC.
When combined with smart home, environmental, or health peripherals, device interoperability can provide a huge range of support services to a service user without human intervention which increases their independence.
For example, if a person falls during the night, it can be stressful for a service-user to be in the dark whilst they wait for assistance. In this scenario, Andi’s device interoperability could instruct the connected Bluetooth lightbulb to switch on when it receives notification of the fall from the cellular fall detector. If the light and the fall detector were from two different manufacturers Andi’s ability to deliver this device interoperability is unchanged.
Device interoperability helps tech enabled care teams to proactively create helpful and immediate responses to incidents to improve the quality-of-care outcomes.
How does Andi deliver information interoperability?
Information interoperability is the ability to bring together information from many devices, and other data sources, and convert raw data into valuable information and distil this information into actionable wisdom before presenting it to a care organisation or responder.
This can include identification of trends, concerning deviations from normal behaviours, environmental or health changes and more.
Providing all the raw data, even as graphics, is not helpful to an already overstretched care responder. It adds to their plate rather than making decision making easier. Andi presents the right “actionable information” to the right person, at the right time so interventions can be faster and made by the most appropriate person.
Information interoperability centralises the key information to reduce false alarms and present anomalous information which may indicate a preventative care need so TEC teams can act proactively.
An added benefit of information interoperability is device freedom. This allows organisations to use a suite of best-in-class peripherals rather than being locked into a small number of suppliers.
How does Andi deliver process interoperability?
An efficient care service will have a standard operating procedure that is triggered for each type of alarm or alert it receives.
Andi not only enables a care organisation to easily design their standard operating procedures but also tailor and personalise these processes for specific service-users and scenarios including the ability to automate of certain parts of the processes when appropriate.
Andi’s process interoperability enables automatic of inter-organisation hand offs ensuring the end-to-end processes can be mapped and be streamlined to include many different stakeholders and systems.
For example, process interoperability can include multiple parties such as ARCs, the emergency services, friends and family (and more) as part of a single incident response.
Overall, process interoperability helps care provision to be more efficient and deliver better care outcomes because when an incident does happen, interventions are faster and more efficiently handled by the right people.
Why is process, device and information interoperability the key to future proofing care?
Each form of interoperability directly leads to greater personalisation of care packages and care response. When care is personalised, tech enabled care teams have access to higher quality information about the health and wellbeing of a service user. Better information enables better responses to alarms and reduces false alarms. The information provided by interoperability is the key to delivering proactive and preventative care.
*to learn more about LSA technology, please read Clear solutions for clear outcomes