A NEW MOVEMENT - Better Caring

May 2015
A NEW MOVEMENT
Better Caring –technology that’s
changing community care
This issue:
NEWS
FOCUS
HOME MODIFICATION
HCP levels miss their mark
CDC: overseas lessons
Beyond ramps and rails
COMMENT
MANAGEMENT
FRONTLINE ISSUES
It’s time to value case managers
Co-production in CDC
Medication management at home
cover story
Better Caring
– a new era in community
care has arrived
The community care industry is crying out for innovation. Enter Better Caring –
a new concept that uses enabling technology that creates an online venue for
directly connecting those who need a care service to those with a vested interest
in delivering great care, saving time and money. Kymberly Martin reports.
W
ith healthcare spending under the spotlight the
community care sector has undergone significant
reform that has resulted in changes to existing business
models and strategies. These changes reflect the community’s desire
to be able to live independently for as long as possible, as well as
fostering an environment around innovation and flexibility.
Already, the Assistant Minister for Social Services, Mitch Fifield,
has flagged support for a consumer-led aged care system saying:
“let the consumers decide what they want and allow the market to
supply what is needed.”
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So far, Consumer Directed Care (CDC)
has promised much, but delivered little
in the way of real change. While it’s early
days, people are questioning whether it is
delivering the real choice many consumers
have long been seeking. Better Caring has
been designed to fill a gap in the market by
enabling independent care workers to offer
their services directly to those who need
care. Better Caring also gives the consumer,
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their family or carer the option to directly hire the care worker of
their choice.
“What Better Caring is offering is a new level of choice and
transparency to customers and care workers while providing a better
outcome for both” Better Caring founder Peter Scutt, explains. “The
client who wants to take control of their own care is able to engage
people at a price they can afford and the care worker is able to
accept clients on terms they think are fair, and a long term valuable
bond is formed with the client. We believe our approach facilitates
and embraces the spirit of Consumer Directed Care and the NDIS.
“One thing we have to do for the aged care and disability sectors
is to make the industry a more appealing place to work. We believe
the Better Caring approach will not only encourage people to work
in their local community but introduce new people into the sector.
We offer people a flexible, empowered way to work.
“Our independent workers offer choices to clients built around
what suits them. Engaging the care worker directly is less expensive
than using an agency and makes individual care budgets go further.
What Better Caring is delivering is a new, innovative marketplace
model that ticks all the boxes,” Scutt says.
On one side of the Better Caring marketplace, there are clients
needing support and on the other, individual care workers offering
support services. By connecting the client with the worker directly
it can be a more rewarding relationship for both parties. Innovative
home care providers can also partner with the Better Caring
marketplace, by flexibly offering a pool of skilled and motivated
care workers to their clients. This can result in internal efficiencies
in supply and demand for the provider, while delivering real choice
and cost savings to their clients.
These peer-to-peer marketplace models are well established in
other industries that are now being enthusiastically embraced in
Australia. In reference to this new ‘sharing economy’, Scutt gives
internet-based examples such as Uber, an on-demand taxi service,
Airbnb, an accommodation provider, and Freelancer, a marketplace
for professional services, as disruptors restructuring industries by
empowering consumers and workers to
connect directly. “Like Better Caring, these
services allow people to find each other,
negotiate outcomes, build trust and develop
relationships. It’s all very transparent.”
“Better Caring is however a marketplace
with controls, reflecting that we operate in
an industry where many are vulnerable. We
have sensible policies and procedures in
place which are always being improved. Our
on-boarding and approval process includes
criminal and reference checks, before a care
worker’s profile goes live on the platform.
We reject about 15 per cent of applicants.
And we have partnered with Zurich to cover
all care workers with insurances.
“A question we are often asked is, how
does Better Caring ensure the quality of
services if care workers are independent?
This is addressed in a number of ways. At a
high level, the ultimate arbiter of quality is
consumer choice – they can easily choose
someone else. We also enable consumers
to provide feedback on their experience,
which is recorded on worker profiles.”
Importantly, the foundation of
quality care starts with the attitudes and
motivations of individual care workers,
Scutt says. Better quality is an outcome
of workers having more control and taking
responsibility for their clients, because they
directly benefit from delivering great care.
“We recognise that we must build the
capacity of care workers and consumers to
operate in this ‘free’ market. It starts with
having policies, procedures and guidelines
in place to support and protect them both.
We offer 24/7 phone support, peer-to-peer
support, meetups, networking, seminars,
a resources library, coaching, training and
development as an important element of
the Better Caring model.”
The shortage of personal care workers
is well documented, says Scutt. The
Productivity Commission review into aged
care reported low levels of morale among
care workers and all the challenges of
attracting and retaining a workforce.
“When I speak to care workers they say
‘revolving door’ rosters can be a big issue
for them. Care workers used to have a two
week roster, however, with new technology
rosters can change within 24 hours and this
can be a cause of some dissatisfaction. These
rostering systems are often cost or efficiency
driven allowing little flexibility for either
party. It is a high overhead model that gives
little time or incentive for the care worker to
get to know the customer. We are attempting
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to change that by putting care workers in control of their schedule and
reducing the cost through care worker and clients self-scheduling.”
Organisations brokering out their care services are using Better
Caring’s rapidly expanding database of qualified and insured
workers to help them flexibly manage and provide tailored solutions
for their clients. By hiring independent care workers directly via
the Better Caring platform, they reduce their oncosts as well as the
cost of care for their clients, whilst gaining detailed reporting and
transparency on the care services being delivered.
The platform has a calendar function for clients with details of
their care schedule. It provides reporting on each care shift delivered
as well as allocated hours, payments and account balances. The
care worker has a dashboard to manage and record case notes their
clients. It’s a mobile friendly site, so easily accessible on the road.
Scutt says while some familiarity with technology and use of
the internet is an advantage the Better Caring platform is no more
complicated, and probably easier, than using Facebook. We offer
a concierge service to give assistance for initial help if needed.
“Technology is bringing people together who might not have been
easily able to find each other previously and we have developed a
platform to make this happen.”
Better Caring started developing the technology two years ago.
It was launched officially in December 2014 in Sydney and the NSW
Central Coast to consumers through local networking and selective
promotions. The company also met with leading industry advocacy
groups who were very supportive of innovative models delivering
choice, transparency and cost savings. While this was a judicious
reach initially the company is now increasing its marketing strategy to
create a greater awareness of the Better Caring offering and take what
was learnt from the Sydney launch to a national offering. Melbourne
and Victoria are next, with people already signing up in Brisbane,
Canberra and Wagga Wagga. A number of innovative organisations
are expressing a keen interest in partnering opportunities too.
A NEW LOW-COST MODEL
And just what is the worker profile for those interested in the
Better Caring model?
According to Better Caring chief operating officer, Jane Floyd,
these could be staff already working in aged care facilities seeking
a more flexible offering. Others may not be working in the industry;
it may be a mother wanting to work during school hours, a retired
nurse or a family carer who has finished their care experience and is
looking for a way to re-enter the workforce.
“Better Caring is opening up the world of caring to a wider
section of the community who want to work flexibly in their local
area and at times that suits them. Being able to make a difference
in a person’s life also, makes this an attractive option for many
people,” Floyd says. The concept goes a long way towards solving
the increasing demand for care in remote areas where there is often
only one home care provider, she says.
Better Caring operates its business on very low margins, so
that the savings can be shared by care workers and customers. It’s
free for care workers to sign up and build a profile. It’s also free
for customers to search care workers. It’s only when a customer
engages a care worker that Better Caring deducts 10 per cent off the
care worker’s hourly rate, while the customer is charged a 5 per cent
service fee. These charges also cover the cost of insurances that
have been arranged on behalf of care workers.
Floyd says with many providers often charging $40 to $50 an hour
during the week and $70 to $80 on the weekend; it’s a cost many
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consumers and the government cannot afford.
“Some workers prefer to work weekends
and we find that somewhere between the
client price and the worker payment a happy
medium is reached that suits both parties.
The outcome is a win-win: clients can afford
more hours of care which often means they
can employ the worker for longer hours.”
The aged care and disability sectors
are ready for change, she says, and until
now funding models have favoured the big
operators and organisations that receive
government funding. But under CDC and
NDIS consumers can now make choices
and in effect, have the option to self- direct
or self-manage their support. As she reads
it, consumer demands become greater
when they are empowered with choice and
individual budgets.
While Scutt acknowledges this
innovative approach to home care might
not suit everyone, Better Caring does offer
people choice, particularly for those who
want to take control of their support. Many
people will be more comfortable with the
traditional model, but they need to be
informed enough to know they are getting
value and the outcomes they want.
“Also there are providers who broker all
their services out to private agencies. We are
a complementary service offering for these
providers. We can enable them to offer their
clients’ choice of care workers while lowering
the cost of care, meaning their clients can
afford more support,” he says.
THE BEGINNING OF A
NEW MOVEMENT IN
COMMUNITY CARE
One of the sector’s biggest challenges is
the ongoing workforce shortages which
inhibit Australia’s ability to meet increasing
demands for high quality aged care and
disability support. Floyd says traditional
organisations operating in these sectors
have struggled to attract and retain workers
largely due to the relatively low pay rates
and lack of flexibility offered to care workers.
“Better Caring’s community of care
workers is independent and self-employed
and they set their own fees and working
hours. As such they are highly motivated
and offer a contingency workforce solution
for organisations seeking to manage
fluctuations in supply and demand, and
improve responsiveness.”
High turnover is less likely to happen
with the Better Caring option because
consumers are in control of their business
and their schedule.
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SERVICE PROVIDERS SEE BENEFITS
Community care service providers have already started jumping onto the platform as a
source of supply for their contingency workforce, and cost effective method to respond
to clients with complex or special needs.
Vijaya, a busy professional and full-time carer of her mother, Irene. Whilst Irene
has existing services in place, Vijaya was referred to Better Caring when she needed
to find a care worker to fill in for her while she traveled, someone who suited
her mother’s cultural needs. Vijaya interviewed three care workers who met her
requirements and eventually secured the services of the one she thought would better
connect with her mother.
Vijaya says: “I was able to go away on holidays knowing that my mum was being cared for by
someone we had chosen together. Our culture is very important to my mother. I was happy to find
someone that would be able to socially connect with her.”
Floyd says: “Work for yourself, set your own fees and work hours,
and choose your clients. With the existing system there is no time to
develop relationships but being independent gives the care worker
more responsibility to provide a quality client service, not because it
is their job but because it is their business. With 80 per cent of care
workers in the industry being women, and half employed part-time,
the Better Caring option has to be a very appealing proposition.
“This really is the beginning of a new movement in community
care, led by care workers. People tend to forget it is the care workers
who deliver the care, not the organisation. We are putting the power
back into the hands of workers and consumers. One of my roles at
Better Caring is enabling the care worker to manage themselves as a
micro business, helping them build on their capacities,” Floyd says.
But one size does not fit all and not all care worker employees
can or want to make the leap to managing their own clients, as Scutt
explains: “There is a level of responsibility attached when it comes to
self-scheduling, responding to enquiries, deciding on new rates and
understanding the client base. And you need to make an investment
in yourself when becoming an independent care worker. For those
wanting to join the Better Caring community of workers, we can help
them make that transition and gain an understanding of this new
market place. It is not just about the quality of care you can provide
in the home which is very important. There are other aspects. Workers
have to be a little bit tech savvy, more customer service savvy, good
communicators and be able to market themselves.
“If the industry does not get behind
innovations like Better Caring it is just
going to be more of the same. People talk of
innovation but often little changes which is
one of the reasons why COTA Australia has
become a public supporter of our model.”
Scutt says that feedback so far has
been overwhelmingly positive and they are
receiving an encouraging reception from
consumer advocacy bodies. “We see ourselves
as an industry solution for care workers and
consumers, for government and for existing
providers dealing with regulatory change.”
Scutt is keen to point out that Better
Caring is not a worker directory or
recruitment service but the place to manage
your business or your care – find clients,
manage clients, service clients, led and
driven by the care worker and the customer,
with both reaping the benefits. “I believe the
concept will take hold when people recognize
we are the facilitator and venue. Similar to
Uber, AirBnB and Freelancer, Better Caring
does not provide care services ourselves.
We are simply enabling a more effective and
efficient marketplace for those needing care.
“We are innovating at many levels in
technology, in our business model and
culturally, by putting people at the centre
of the industry. We are innovating at a
behavioural level too, garnering people from
having little responsibility to becoming selfemployed and taking full responsibility for
their clients and receiving all the benefits
from delivering exceptional care.”
He says the concept addresses all the
challenges of the industry which is about
choice and control, making the cost of care
affordable and motivating valuable outcomes.
“Ultimately the core proposition is: are
consumers better off? Good quality care is
largely reliant on the attitude of the care
worker, which is buoyed by rewarding those
who provide exceptional care. Consumers
are now offered lots of choice over who
cares for them and at what price.” n
Contact us
Phone: 1300 73 65 73
Email: [email protected] or team@
bettercaring.com.au
Website: www.bettercaring.com.au
ABOUT US
Better Caring’s community of care
workers launched in December 2014.
Better Caring offers an online meeting
place for people needing care to connect
directly with independent care workers.
bettercaring
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