The demand for home care services is continuously growing, and special attention is required to maintain service quality and cost-efficiency. In the home care sector, the planning and scheduling of daily tasks are demanding and time-consuming activities. Matching the service users' care needs, the available resources and the care workers' skills rationally and efficiently is quite a complex jigsaw. It is often difficult to get a manageable overview of the situation. Changes, re-planning and re-scheduling have almost become a routine in these daily activities.

Improved efficiency through optimised resource planning
Tieto developed the Laps Care planning and scheduling software in co-operation with customers. The tool uses optimisation technology to facilitate the daily planning and scheduling of activities in home care, thus saving valuable time.

Based on the parameters defined by the planning and scheduling staff, the system automatically generates an optimised visit schedule for each care worker. The system takes into account the service users' need for care and continuity of services, as well as care workers' working hours (including breaks, meetings and other tasks not related to service users), skills, means and durations of transportation. The result is an efficient, optimised roster. The system minimises the risk of over- and under-allocation of staff, improves the quality of service and reduces costs by aiming to assign the right person with the right skills to the right task at the right time in the right place.

The solution is easy to use and highly visual. The regular and occasional visits to service users, changes to planned schedules, staff's data and availability to visit service users are recorded in the system. Optimised rosters are created in connection with the daily planning and scheduling. It is easy to get an overview and to manage changes. The system also includes a map of the municipality that shows the geographical locations of all service users and all scheduled services.

More time for high-quality nursing and care
By implementing the system, it becomes easier and quicker to plan and schedule daily tasks. Planning and scheduling can be unit-specific or centralised. This means that Laps Care allocates the resources in the entire home care organisation fairly and efficiently, providing a good overview of the situation. Below are the benefits of using the system:

• time and resources are released from daily planning to nursing and care
• optimised planning reduces the need for temporary relief staff
• travel times are realistic and minimised
• visits to service users are not missed by accident, and continuity of service is improved
• the care workers and the service users can trust the optimised rosters
• the effects of changes can be simulated in advance, e.g., by querying whether a team can take on new service users, how vaca tions are handled, how hiring a new care worker or acquiring a vehicle would affect the overall situation, etc.

Prize-winning international solution
The solution has achieved remarkable, verifiable results in Sweden and Norway. "Laps Care has enhanced the efficiency of planning so that the care workers now spend 30 minutes more with service users per day, which means a 12.5% improvement in efficiency." (Aurskog-Höland/Norway)

The "Dagens Medicin" medical journal in Sweden selected the Laps Care system as "The IT Innovation in Health Care" in 2002. The solution was a finalist in the "Användarnas Pris" (Users' Awards) contest by TCO/LO, and it has received the "Euro Excellence in Practice Award".

For further information, please visit:
http://www.tieto.com/healthcare

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About Tieto
Tieto supports its healthcare and welfare customers by digitalizing their service and care processes. The aim is to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of lifetime care. Tieto is the leading healthcare and welfare ICT solution provider in the Nordic countries and has a strong position in Germany and the Netherlands. We provide a comprehensive set of solutions based on our own products as well as customized solutions and ICT services. Solutions are focused on making life easier for citizens, patients and the caring staff. Over 40 years in the business, more than 1000 professionals in seven countries and close customer relations give us a strong foundation to further develop healthcare and welfare at the individual, regional and national level. For more information, visit www.tieto.com/healthcare.