Optimizing Client Selection: Harnessing the Full Potential of Evondos

Implementing the Evondos service and its automated medicine dispensing robot requires strategic decisions from the healthcare organization, especially during the start-up phase. By carefully selecting clients, you can ensure that the service delivers maximum benefits for both clients at home and your care organization. Client selections are the care organizations responsibility. However, we at Evondos are more than happy to support, share lessons learnt and give practical tips on how to effectively, yet successfully conduct client selections.

The Evondos service is versatile, making it suitable for a wide range of clients with different dilemmas. Still, choosing the right candidates from the client base for the Evondos service is crucial for achieving the best possible outcomes. Thorough client selection aids successful implementation and ensures you meet your rollout goals. The primary limitations include clients who are not willingly taking their prescribed medicine, have advanced dementia or suffer from conditions significantly impairing their functionality.

It is important to us that a care organization feels confident in taking into use our service, which is why the initial client selection is a collaborative process between Evondos and care staff. Given that the care staff know their clients best, their active involvement is essential for a successful start-up implementation as each client is a unique person, with individual needs that must be assessed thoughtfully. Integrating a well-thought-out client selection into the governmental ‘service needs assessment’ streamlines the process from the start.

When taking the Evondos service into use for the first time, choosing suitable clients from existing patients can seem daunting. Fortunately, with the hundreds of implementations Evondos has done, we are able to share the peer-approved methods to help in the process and to also explain the process. We have gathered best practices from our customers and Evondos experts to help you get started smoothly and to make client selection both efficient and impactful.

Support from Evondos

Initially, finding suitable clients may be challenging due to limited experience, which is understandable. During the early stages, client selection is done collaboratively, with guidance from Evondos experts. As the care team gains experience, the selection process becomes routine and easier to execute independently. Setting clear, measurable, and realistic goals supports the customer selection process and helps achieve the desired outcomes. We will help you get started with those as well!

“The experience from the field, the expertise from Evondos and open discussions with the whole team – a combination of these aspects leads to successful client selections.”

-Manager of a “Elderly homecare services” unit in Finnish wellbeing service county serving approximately 210 000 inhabitants

Metrics for Success

When setting goals, consider tangible metrics to track progress. Metrics can be qualitative, quantitative, direct, or indirect, but they must measure relevant aspects and support your set strategic goals. For example, if the goal is to reduce visits involving only medical administration, measure both the visit times and the duration to truly understand the service’s impact on freeing up staff time.

”Medicine robots have been a natural next step when we wanted to add the use of technology, because we have the same resource shortage as everyone else has [in Finland]. Thanks to the robots we have been able to reallocate about 1000 home visits in a month. Our clients also do not need governmentally issued service vouchers as much as before.”

-Head nurse in “Services provided at home” unit in Finnish wellbeing service county serving approximately 175 000 inhabitants

One way is to start by listing potential clients in your organization. Consider the number of monthly visits, the proportion of visits related to medication distribution, other care needs, whether these needs can be met with a medication dispensing robot, and the client’s willingness to adhere to medication. By gathering this data, you establish a baseline for improvement and optimization.

Offering the robot instead of extensive home visits can be more efficient and cost beneficial. Besides quantitative goals, consider qualitative measures like client satisfaction and staff well-being. Care diaries or surveys can offer valuable insights into these aspects.

“The benefits of having automated medicine dispensers have been enormous, even though home visits are not always replaced totally with the robot. An example of how the service has helped our organization is that the nurses can focus fully on the individual they are currently serving, without feeling rushed.”

-Service manager of a “Distance care and technology” unit in a Finnish wellbeing service county serving approximately 200 000 inhabitants

Diverse Customer Profiles

Avoid selecting only clients with similar care profiles. Experimenting with various user profiles broadens your understanding of the service’s applicability. Our experts recommend trying the service with different user groups to gather comprehensive insights, and potentially discovering innovative ways to use the Evondos service. Suitable profiles include clients needing time-critical medication, those with memory issues, mental health problems, and substance abuse issues.

Clients Have Been Selected, What Now?

A proven method is to have a trial period where the robot is introduced step-by-step to the client in their home, with patient support from the care staff. This ensures that the client becomes accustomed to the new technology and learns to use the robot correctly. This can increase the client's confidence and independence, enhancing the robot's effective use. If the robot isn’t suitable for one client, it can be easily reassigned to another.

All in All...

Balancing limited resources with increasing client numbers is challenging, especially in large municipalities and welfare counties. The Evondos service helps by automating medicine-related routine visits, freeing up care resources for high-quality care. The service reduces the time-critical nature of medication administration, easing scheduling pressures and improving staff well-being by allowing more flexible and less rushed planning. By following these best practices, leveraging the expertise of Evondos and the invaluable knowledge of your care staff, you can ensure that the service delivers its maximum potential, enhancing the quality of care and operational efficiency.