This article is sponsored by Homecare Homebase (HCHB). In this Voices interview, Home Health Care News sits down with Lynn Carroll, VP Product Management – EHR, Homecare Homebase, discusses HCHB’s roots in the home care industry and continued collaboration and partnership with providers to develop new tools, service lines and features. She also explores the many ways HCHB incorporates provider input into its product development and how their past experience helps bridge the gap between technology and care.
What life and professional experiences do you draw on most in your role today?
My first job in healthcare IT was answering phone calls in the Athenahealth support center. At this time, we were unable to remotely access the caller’s computer. To successfully help people, we had to know the application inside out and solve the user’s problems using their verbal feedback alone. I learned so much in this role and developed tremendous empathy for nurses and clinicians who have to navigate clunky software and care for patients at the same time.
I found incredible joy in helping professionals use their applications more effectively, and it made me want to make a bigger impact in this area. When I took on the role of Product Manager at CareCloud, it expanded my product management skills and allowed me to work closely with physicians to build comprehensive experience across specialties such as ophthalmology, rheumatology, and obstetrics/gynecology.
Through these experiences, I learned a lot about the importance of connecting with users, really listening to their pain points and desires, and then taking the time to observe them in their own environment. By seeing how they interact with patients versus the application and identifying where the application gets them stuck or slowed down, we can better understand how to troubleshoot these scenarios and improve their experience.
Why is provider input so important to healthcare companies?
My product team and I just completed an internal learning session on personas. One of the key takeaways is that we all have our own biases, assumptions and perspectives that naturally emerge as we design and build software. Still, it’s incredibly important to remember that we are not our users.
We must leverage the tools and methods available to ensure we are building what our partners truly need, and conversations with providers and physicians are one of the best ways to accomplish this. I often remind my team that they need to regularly engage our users. If they don’t talk to a user for 2, 4, or 6 weeks, that’s two, 4, or 6 weeks of decisions made without validation.
Clinicians have the most say in EHR selection today, so it is incredibly important for my team and I to continually receive input from our users and use that to improve and drive our clinical user satisfaction.
How does HCHB incorporate ideas and feedback from vendors into product planning?
My team hosts a monthly tactical cabinet with clinical representatives from across the country. These cabinets provide my team with the opportunity to validate and receive actionable feedback on the roadmap, features, workflow, and even the data we collect to support our decisions. Through this group we’ve been able to make some really great contacts and partnerships where my product managers can reach out and engage these people when needed.
We also encourage our product teams to accompany administrators or participate in ride-alongs with clinicians. Due to our large customer base, there are often multiple customers that our product people can interact with directly on site to gain this experience. Visiting a patient at home or in a hospice is incredibly humbling and helps develop empathy for our clinicians and the challenges they face on a daily basis. Leveraging these opportunities and the feedback we can receive will inform our decisions around the roadmap.
What does a true partnership between a software provider and a vendor look like?
In a successful vendor-vendor partnership, collaboration is key. They work closely together to implement, customize and optimize the software to meet the provider’s specific requirements. Both parties are committed to innovation, with the provider regularly updating the software with new features and the provider making suggestions for improvements based on their experience. The relationship is based on mutual trust and transparency, with both parties acting with integrity in all dealings. Additionally, risks and opportunities are shared, with both parties invested in the success of the software implementation and use.
What do you enjoy most about working with customers on software development?
The moments when we reach a milestone or goal together make all the work worthwhile. All the courage it takes to get there – from creating connections and trust to experimenting, failing quickly and developing innovative solutions. It’s like being in the trenches together, and once you get to the other side and reach a new milestone, it’s so rewarding. Successful collaboration drives this rhythm that moves us forward.
Finish this sentence: “In the home care industry, 2024 will be defined by…”
…improving results.
We are seeing providers increasingly focus on innovation in our space to improve care coordination and patient outcomes while addressing market challenges
Physician capacity, regulatory uncertainty and financial pressures. We are here to help side by side and ensure we deliver solutions that help providers change this narrative.
Editor’s note: This article has been edited for length and clarity.
Homecare Homebase is a leading software provider offering hosted, cloud-based solutions to streamline operations, simplify compliance, and improve clinical and financial outcomes for home care services. Our tailored mobile solutions enable wireless data sharing and real-time communication between field staff, physicians and office staff for better care, more accurate reporting and improved revenue cycle management. For more information visit hchb.com.
The Voices Series is a sponsored content program where top executives discuss trends, topics and more shaping their industries in a question-and-answer format. For more information about Voices, please contact [email protected].