Twelve residents, three payers, one clipboard
Your podiatrist visits a care home every few weeks. The home's staff hand over a list of residents who need their feet done. Some are regulars, some are new. For new residents, nobody is sure whether a family member has agreed to the treatment and the charge. Some residents pay from their own funds, some families are invoiced, and the home pays for a few.
The podiatrist works through the list, writes notes on a clipboard, and leaves. Back at base, someone types up notes and works out who to invoice, then chases families who did not know they would be billed.
Why care home work is heavy on admin
- The home's list changes each visit and arrives on the day, or by phone.
- Consent for treatment and agreement to pay may need to come from a family member or attorney, which takes time to obtain.
- Payers differ by resident: self, family, the home, sometimes a funder.
- Notes written on paper need typing into your clinic system.
- The home's staff want a short summary for each resident's care record.
- Invoicing families who were not expecting it causes friction and late payments.
What the paperwork costs
Time on the day spent sorting out who can be treated, instead of treating. Residents missed because agreement was not in place. Evenings of typing. Invoices that bounce between families and the home. And care homes that find the arrangement harder to manage than it should be.
| Record | Who needs it | What we hold |
|---|---|---|
| Resident and room | Podiatrist and home | Per-home register |
| Consent and who gave it | Podiatrist | Recorded before the visit, with the person's role |
| Payer | Your accounts | Self, family, home or funder, with contact |
| Due date | Podiatrist | From the interval the podiatrist sets |
| Visit summary | Home's staff | Short note after each visit |
How we build care home rounds
- Each home has a register of its residents who use your service, with room, recall interval, consent status and payer.
- The home can add new residents through a short form, which starts the consent and payer process with the resident or their family before the visit.
- Families receive a link explaining the service and your charges, and can record agreement and payment details online, where they have the authority to do so.
- A week before each visit, the home receives the list of residents due, and can add anyone who needs to be seen.
- On the day, the podiatrist works from a tablet: resident details, previous notes and consent status, with notes captured as they go.
- After the visit, the home receives a short summary per resident for its care records, in wording your podiatrists approve.
- Invoices are grouped by payer and pushed to Xero or QuickBooks, with payment links for families.
Questions of capacity and who can consent are for your podiatrists and the home to decide under their own policies. The system records what was decided and by whom.
What care home days look like afterwards
The podiatrist arrives with a list that is agreed, paid for and ready. Time on site is spent treating. The home receives notes it can file. Families know what they are paying for before the invoice arrives. Admin at base drops to checking and sending.
Is care home work harder than it should be?
- You get the resident list on the day.
- New residents cannot be treated because agreement is not in place.
- Visit notes are written on paper and typed up later.
- Families are surprised by invoices.
- The home asks for summaries you do not have time to write.