Evaluating the Impacts of Implementing a Digital Care Management Software System in Homecare

SPRU research team

• Bryony Beresford
• Dr Suzanne Mukherjee 

Project Summary

A core element of the digital transformation of social care envisioned by the Department of Health and Social Care in England is that, by March 2024, 80% of registered social care providers will be using a digital care record system. To date, the majority of the evidence on the impacts of digitalisation within social care comes from care home settings, with very few independent evaluations of the impacts of digitalisation within homecare.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of implementing a homecare-specific digital care management software system by one the UK’s largest homecare providers.  We will be exploring local office’s experiences of transferring to the system, and impacts across a number of domains (e.g. care delivery, care worker experience, business efficiency) and the role played by the software design and functionality with respect to those impacts.  We will be using interviews and focus groups to gather the views and experiences of those in management and administrative roles, as well as care workers themselves.  We will also use routinely collected data to understand and explore the impacts of moving to this system, comparing local offices using the system with those waiting to implement it.