Thoughts on iPads in the home??

Do any of my fellow HH RN's document on iPads? Are you able to complete any documentation in the home? My agency uses big bulky outdated laptops & it's not practical to take them into our patients homes so we end up charting for 2-3 hours each night & we're all burnt out! It'd be nice to be able to complete at least some charting while in the home. Are iPads any better??

[GenSurgRNFA, BSN]

I worked briefly in homecare this past year they havent even upgraded to a laptop!! It was all on paper charting!! As a new grad i was soooo lost because what i learned was EPIC emr in clinical.

[OldDude]

My wife is a home health PT - pushing 20 years now. She loves home health so that's why she sticks with it. They went from paper to lap tops, to Ipads, to some other brand of tablet now; Samsung I think. She still has to wait for others to enter their stuff before she can proceed, still has the same tech issues, and still finishes documentation at home in the evening and weekends. Considering the time she puts in off the clock I can say she gets a pay cut with every tech advancement. But it sure saves the clerical and administration staff, (the ones who don't generate income for the company), a lot of time; so they can decorate their cubicle walls, take full lunch breaks, enjoy holidays off, and plan office birthday events.

[homehealthWCN]

Haha! That sounds very similar to my office! What does she have to wait for before she can enter her notes? SOC documentation to be completed by the RNs? Thanks for your input!

[OldDude]

Someone in the office has to enter the referral information and then, yes, most admissions are done by the RNs - some of which are in the same boat as she is and some of which who are just lazy and have no regard for others who may be waiting on them. Personally, I don't see how she stands it, but HH is her passion so she continues to put up with it.

[Farawyn]

I have a small laptop, and the PTs don't have to wait for me. I do the SOC, but they don't need me to enter their assessments.

[Crystal-Wings, LVN]

I wish my agency used laptops or iPads! I hate having to write everything on paper, especially narative charting. It takes forever, and then we have to mail in our charting. That's how we're paid.

[Farawyn]

I wish my agency used laptops or iPads! I hate having to write everything on paper, especially narative charting. It takes forever, and then we have to mail in our charting. That's how we're paid.

Oooof.

[CBlover, BSN, RN]

I wish my agency used laptops or iPads! I hate having to write everything on paper, especially narative charting. It takes forever, and then we have to mail in our charting. That's how we're paid.

Wow. Still in the dark ages.

[OldDude]

I actually tried HH many years ago. At that time our admission packet contained a template with a bunch of boxes to check and places to enter narrative notes, ICD9 codes, frequencies, etc. After the SOC visit that paperwork was turned over to a department of data entry clerks who typed it all up and put the finished product in my mail box the next day for approval before submitting it for billing. It was fast, reliable, and easy to churn out the admissions, especially the visits. Then someone in the industry decided the POC technology would streamline the process and that's when I ultimately threw in the towel. It was crazy more work for me with no added benefits. I wouldn't have lasted anyway because grown up nursing just isn't my thing but that expedited my exodus. And, as I said above, you know the rest of the story.