Every domain has certain peculiarities. Building domain understanding and making small tweaks to the approach while building solutions for different domains can make a great difference and add exponential value.

One such domain we got a chance to explore and build complex solutions for is the Elderly Care domain.
In the wider scope, the elderly care space may appear as a niche market, but like any other domain, it comes with its own unique aspects and peculiarities.

During the course of our work in this area, we were able to gather some valuable learnings which have helped us understand the domain to a larger depth.
Here are nine crucial insights from what we have learned.

Insight 1: Users Before Usability

Studying the typical user persona of an elderly care application revealed that usually, applications in this domain are used by employees of elderly care homes and agencies.
Often, these users are middle-aged folks, as they can better relate to seniors and have greater patience to deal with the elderly.

Here are some takeaways:

• As people age, changes in vision are common. Use of reading glasses is also prevalent in middle-aged folks; hence they prefer reading relatively larger font sizes.
• Tones of blue can appear faded to seniors, potentially affecting reading clarity when a lot of blue is used in designs.
• Bumping up text and button sizes helps. Using a minimum of 16px font size is generally adequate.
• Opting for Sans serif typefaces can enhance on-screen readability.
• Label icons with explanatory text to make the interface intuitive.

Insight 2: Simple and Linear Workflows

Elaborating further on user persona study, users of elderly care management applications are typically middle-aged employees of elderly care homes or agencies.
These users are not exceptionally tech-savvy and may have limited technology know-how.

• Building simple and linear workflows, showing smaller chunks of information and guiding users through complex processes, reduces experience friction.

Insight 3: Provision Wisely

Elderly care apps are not expected to cater to thousands of users at once, so a huge workload is not anticipated.

• Ensure that the app infrastructure is sized appropriately to prevent over-provisioning of resources, keeping cloud costs in check.

Insight 4: Worry-Free Compliance

Being a compliance-heavy area, elderly care service providers need to spend considerable time and effort on compliance.

• Integrate government fees, charges, and other compliance-related details within the system to save time and effort.
• Build resident agreement templates that can automatically update to align with industry standards and compliance requirements.
• Accommodate new rules and laws, like the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) or HIPAA compliance in the US.
• If the app facilitates home healthcare visits, ensure compliance with EVV standards.

Insight 5: Important Integrations

Elderly care agencies need to interact with external entities like government portals, suppliers, and service providers.
Integrating these systems can provide a cohesive experience.

• Integrate with government portals for subsidies and compliance, e.g., Australian Aged Care Service Provider Portal.
• Integrate Azure AD for single sign-on and secure access.
• Incorporate e-sign platforms like DocuSign for signing documentation.
• Include accounting systems (Xero, QuickBooks, Zoho) for billing and payment processing.

Insight 6: Automate It!

Managing financials in aged care facilities involves many variables including compliances, government fees, and variations.

• Automate calculations like deductions, accommodation deposits, and variations to simplify accommodation payment management.
• Automate workflows like resident onboarding and agreement approvals to simplify processes.

Insight 7: Anywhere & On-The-Go

Design the elderly care management solution to be responsive and device agnostic, enabling data mobility across devices.

• Whether you opt for a Progressive Web App (PWA) or a dedicated mobile application, accessibility on the go can make all the difference.

Insight 8: No More Missed Deadlines

Elderly care management apps are used by busy professionals with many responsibilities.

• Incorporate features like agreement and insurance renewal tracking and timely renewal reminders to prevent missed deadlines.

Insight 9: Reports That Matter

Elderly care involves managing vast amounts of data, such as patient records, compliance details, and occupancy statistics.

• Implement reporting modules that generate simple, easy-to-comprehend reports to derive actionable insights.
• Include reports on occupancy trends to determine vacant slots and manage move-ins/move-outs effectively.
• Generate medication data reports to identify frequently missed medications and take corrective actions.
• Include incident logging and reporting to help identify patterns and take proactive measures.
• Implement AI in reports to predict trends and spot anomalies, giving a smart edge to the solution.