Millions of people across the globe live with complex care needs, which can result from a combination of “multiple concurrent chronic conditions, functional and cognitive impairments, mental health challenges and social vulnerability.” For these individuals and their care givers, scheduling homecare appointments, communicating with care teams, and managing medical data can feel like a full-time job.  

To ease the burden on home care clients and care givers, and to make their interactions with their care teams easier and more efficient, GoldCare offers a secure client portal to facilitate communication and self-manage appointments.  

The portal is accessible on various devices including tablets and computers. It adheres to internet browser standards for accessibility features like font size adjustments, so it can be used by everyone. 

This blog outlines some of the key features of the GoldCare client portal, and how it is benefitting both home and community care clients and the service provider organizations which serve them. 

Keeping On Top of Schedules Is Simpler Online 

Homecare clients with complex care needs tend to have a wide variety of appointments across multiple disciplines. This can make scheduling a real challenge. The GoldCare portal includes a variety of scheduling features that make this process a bit easier and more intuitive. Within the portal, clients have a one-stop shop to: 

• View schedules in weekly or monthly format
• Request reschedules directly through the portal 
• Cancel appointments (within timeframes outlined by the organization) 

The system can be configured to restrict cancellations and reschedules based on organizational policies, so the needs of all parties are met.  

Being able to manage appointment schedules centrally represents a real advantage over hard to track, manual processes like paper and pen appointment calendars and rescheduling via phone call or email. Given that, it’s no surprise that 59% to 70% of clients prefer to self-schedule (Jarvis Analytics, 2021).  

Clients and Caregivers Stay Up to Date With In-Portal Notifications 

Clients receive notifications for rescheduled appointments and other important updates through the portal. The system can also send automated notifications based on configured rules. Examples of such notifications include reminders to review and update contact information, or to return completed documents. Studies suggest that 80-90% of clients find such notifications helpful. 

Communicating With Care Providers, Simplified 

Clients with complex care needs, and indeed all clients, may need to communicate with their care team about a variety of topics, from scheduling to billing to feedback. But any office staff member can confirm that managing client messages across all channels (email, phone, in person, etc.) can become a real challenge, especially during busy periods. Response times go up, and client and staff member are both frustrated.can experience frustrations. 

The GoldCare customer portal includes a messaging system that enables clients to communicate with office staff in an efficient and traceable manner. Messages can be marked as complete, and feedback can be provided. Care coordinators receive notifications through web objects directly on their dashboards. Organizations using portal messaging systems indicate that they reduce response times by up to 30%. (site the quote) 

Easing the Administrative Burden for Clients and Families 

As their circumstances change, clients can update their personal information and manage contacts with read or write privileges directly on the GoldCare client portal. Changes made by clients are reflected in their files for care team members to see. This feature leads to a decrease in administrative workload, and an improvement in client convenience as well. 

After consultation with home and community service providers, GoldCare is also rolling out some much-anticipated future enhancements to the administrative functions of the portal, including document sharing capabilities, post-appointment evaluations, and integration with billing systems. Specific examples of these capabilities include the ability to securely upload medical documents and receive automated billing notifications. 

These enhancements mean that clients and their caregivers will soon be able to perform more of the “paperwork” related to their healthcare through a single, secure digital touchpoint, streamlining and simplifying the management of their care. 

Navigating the Client Portal with Ease 

To help clients navigate the GoldCare Client Portal with ease, we offer the option of integrating a chatbot from an organization’s preferred vendor into the system via API. 

The chatbot can assist clients and their families in finding vital information on the portal, like appointment dates and times, or contact information for care personnel. 

A chatbot can improve the client experience, provide 24/7 access to information, and free up time for the care team and administrators to handle more complex inquiries. For these reasons, organizations may want to consider adding a chatbot as an extension to the core functions of the portal. make the GoldCare client portal easier to navigate, we’ve integrated a handy chatbot assistant. The chatbot is an interactive tool designed to assist clients in real-time using artificial intelligence, offering instant responses to questions related to the use and navigation of the client portal 

Clients can ask the chatbot questions like “How do I cancel my visits for tomorrow?” or “Where can I find out who my nurse is next Thursday?”, and more, and within moments it will provide step-by-step instructions on how to find this information on the portal. 

Benefits include: 

24/7 Availability: The chatbot is available around the clock so clients can get the help they need at any time, even outside of regular business hours. 

Instant Response: Clients receive immediate answers to their questions, reducing wait times, improving client access to information and overall client experience. 

Efficiency: By providing answers to regularly asked questions, the chatbot frees up time for care team members to respond to clients more quickly and effectively. 

Helping Clients With Complex Care Needs Live Their Healthiest Lives 

Individuals with complex care needs and their families face a variety of barriers to accessing and coordinating care, which can negatively impact health outcomes. Service provider organizations are well aware of these barriers and work hard to mitigate them wherever possible.  

In the context of healthcare information management, studies note that poor or disjointed communications and low continuity of care represent serious obstacles to person-centeredness in home and community care settings.  

The GoldCare client portal can be used to address some of these obstacles, by providing an up-to-date, reliable repository of information about the client’s care, accessible to the client and family on their device of choice. 

Client portals are particularly beneficial and increasingly appreciated by clients who require frequent scheduling updates and direct communication with their care teams.  As portal functionality continues to be enhanced, we expect even more clients, their families, and their care teams to benefit from the capabilities outlined above. 

 A client portal can empower clients with complex needs to be actively involved in their health care and achieve better outcomes. To book a demonstration of GoldCare’s Client Portal, click here.