Implementation of Web Based Care Management System

Supervisory Management Project

Brief:

Muiriosa is introducing Epicare, a web based care management system into your area. Using this initiative, discuss the implementation under the following headings

The rationale and aims of the task

An applied understanding of the use of supervisory management styles in the chosen setting.

Critical recognition of their own role as supervisor and the supervisory skills required.

Discuss the importance of communication, delegation; work planning, change management and conflict management.

Epicare is a web based care management system that Muiriosa is introducing into my area of work. I manage the Laois individualised support service, which is very specific and its where the service user is matched to the staff and their will and preference. I have several community based houses and the staff are mostly lone workers. I will endeavour to introduce epicare one community area at a time. Our service is very individualised and is led by the service user. It is done through discovery work and the focus being centred on the person, for whom we care for within the Muiriosa Foundation.

The main focus of the individualised service is for the individual to have access to supports which they require to ‘experience a self-directed, connected, inclusive and meaningful and fulfilling life as possible’. (Muiriosa 2019).

The staff team consists of mostly males as this works best for the individuals, and this is their preference. The staff team compromises of a manager CNM1, social care workers and care staff. The preference of the service users has a preference for male relationships.

What are the aims and benefits of epicare?

I will look at the benefits of introducing epicare into my work area and then I will look at discussing the different styles of supervisory management and which ones I would use when introducing epicare to the workplace. After this I will look at my role as a supervisor and demonstrate what skills are necessary to implement epicare into my area of work. I will discuss the importance of 4 areas that I deem important to carry out this task first.

1)      Communication

2)      Delegation

3)      Planning

4)      Change management and conflict

I will discuss the important role of the supervisor to implement epicare.

Epicare was developed by epic, which is a privately held health care software company. Epicare is a web based care management system which can be thought to care staff and supervisors to support and record information which is pertinent to the service user. It can collect very important data, but only is as good as the person who inputs the information. All information is inputted via a computer and each staff has a code and personal log in so they can input what is necessary on a daily basis.

A plan has been devised that is meaningful for the service user i.e.

• activities of daily living
• bowel chart
• chronic illness i.e. diabetes
• heart problems
• dietary issues
• doctor notes, appointments, admission/discharge- dates
• behavioural support plans- A.B.C
• restrictive practice or any other relevant information to the service user
• record of next of kin

Medication Management.

Aims of Epicare:

•  is to have all confidential data on an Individual in the one place and other disciplines, can have access to records if part of the Multidisciplinary team.
• Is to have accurate notes which are done in a care plan, so as understanding of hand written is no longer a problem. Everybody handwriting is different and some may be hard to understand.
• able to save time and repletion of notes, does not have to be written in several areas of care plan i.e. writing progress notes and then inputting this in areas of activities of daily living.

       to correlate records to provide accurate and up to date information which in turn facilitates planning, reporting and decision making. Staff will have more time to spend with service users rather than writing up lengthy reports in different sections of the already exhaustive paper trial.

• by introducing a system such as epicare, one is introducing a cultural change within the organisation. It is a commitment by the service provider to provide the best service in relation to record keeping. It will provide more direct quality of care.
• to provide access with a touch of a button to access all relevant information rather than trailing through reams of paper work and folders to source information.
• it eliminates the need to archive and store past records, which is time consuming and the need to provide secure storage facilities. All information is stored and secured on computer and information can be accessed anywhere anytime by designated staff as long as they have internet and their own log on details and personal pin.

AN APPLIED UNDERSTANDING OF THE USE OF SUPERVISORY MANAGEMENT STYLE.

Supervisory management is Harvey (1997) identifies that supervisory management is any person who is at the front line and at the first line of management, who has responsibility for the work of others. Managers are responsible for making sure that a plan that has been implemented, the work gets done; and everyone is upskilled to do the task. Implementing such a huge change in current practice is not easy and will require a lot of planning and a belief in what they are taking on. The supervisor’s role is one of leadership style, they are the ones that we go to for direction, they are needed to plan, organise, set tasks, goals and monitor how staff are getting on doing the task. They are there to lead by example, inspire, motivate, enforce ground rules and discipline when required. resolve or diffuse arguments and always listen. Problem solving is another important task of the supervisory manager.

To become a good supervisor one has to understand the type of leader they want to be.

A good leader will be able to direct people towards achieving the goals set out by the organisation murani (2015) According to Levin’s leadership style, he argues that there are three major styles of leadership.

1. Autocratic
2. Democratic
3. Laissez-faire
4. Transformational

Autocratic is known as authoritarian leadership is a management style by one who takes control over all decision and doesn’t take into account what other members of the team have to say. They are powerful and believe their decision are always right. This type of leadership would be detrimental in the implementing of epicare as they may feel the resistance of frontline staff. The task initially may be met but the project itself may lead to a big failure. The introduction of epicare must have a team approach for it to work. Autocratic type of leadership can be demoralising and may lead to high levels of absenteeism and turn over.

Democratic is known as participative leadership or shared leadership. This type of leadership includes their staff team in the decision making process, it boosts moral, it recognises that all staff have a contribution to make. This style of leadership is welcomed but may take time for tasks and projects to get done if there are deadlines (Stansfield, 2009). This type of leadership would work best in the introducing of epicare as everyone feels that they have an input, this in turn will motivate staff and ensure its long term success.

Using the democratic style of leadership in the introduction of epicare would be the best approach and it includes all participants and team members feel they have an important role in the planning and decision making of such an important task.

Laissez- faire is known as delegative leadership, it is where a leader doesn’t make decision and leaves it to a group of people to make decisions. This style of leadership is where a leader gives little or no direction to the employees. The employees make all the decisions in relation to the project. This type may work if the employees are highly skilled in the decision process, in such a case like working with the introduction of epicare this would not work. The leader is still accountable for the outcome of the project (Stansfield, 2009).

Transformational leadership style work best because these leaders have high emotional intelligence, they are motivators and good communicators.  They are self-aware, authentic, empathic and humble which makes for a good leader. This style of leadership works well when change is needed (Bass et al, 1994).    

Critical recognition of their own role as supervisor and the supervisory skills required.

I have been a manager for 16 years and have seen a lot of changes and I have helped with these changes. One requires to have skills such as planning, organising, listening, enthuastic and positivity to implement changes throughout the services. My role of a supervisor is to recognise strengths and weakness of the team.1-1conversations are vital as this leads to empowering and build good relationships. Plan goals set objectives to make tasks achievable. Epicare is a person centered approach to collecting and storing data on an individual. I plan to introduce epicare in my setting as it is an individualized service. It will work well as I have a small staff team and I will be able to coach and mentor each staff until they are comfortable with inputting information on the individual. It is important to have some of the leadership styles discussed above. Autocratic when a decision needs to be made quickly. Democratic to bring teams together and empower staff re job well done. Transformational are good communicators and can see the end result and figure out the best possible action to get the job done. ’to become an effective communicator, you need to understand the choices available and the power of communication’’ (springer 2008)

A GOOD SUPERVISOR POSSESSES THE FOLLOWING SKILLS VITAL TO THE INTRODUCTION OF A WEB BASED SYSTEMSUCH AS EPICARE.

Good communication skills;

A good supervisor is able to communicate effectively using verbal and non- verbal communication. This includes giving and receiving and making sense of information. Communication is very important when we want to share ideas, start a new project, set goals agree protocols and set new standards. A manager needs to be able to articulate exactly what it is they want to achieve. verbal communication skills are only 10% talking and using the written word. whereas non-verbal using gestures, symbols, tone of voice, body language makes up 90%. A good manager can adapt to change, value their staff. Be a coach /mentor. Have a positive manner be a role model. A good supervisor is always approachable has a positive attitude and leads from the front.

Delegation; is a process of allocating jobs to others in order to free up some of the manager’s time, to develop the knowledge and skills of staff team (maddun1990) It is a good sign of a manager if he/she can delegate, it empowers staff and boosts morale within staff team.

Work planning;

Everybody needs a work plan, and it’s the most basic function of management. It needs to be a well thought process and it needs a good organiser to do this task effectively. Work planning is intrinsically linked to enable staff to understand and work with epicare effectively. One must have organisational skills, be able to set goals, plan, organise the equipment like the iPad or computer, up skill on i.t skills. Once epicare is introduced I will monitor the progress effectively, through 1-1 consultation, house meetings, supervision meetings to have a continuation of work evaluation. Any matters that arise or difficulties encountered can be dealt with quickly and effectively (Mosley et al 2011).

Change Management

Communication is one of the most important components of change, people react to change in different ways, it can be positive or negative, fear of the unknown and what do I get out of it. We cannot control change but we can control our response to change. As a manager it is important to believe that the change is worthwhile for each person and to improve quality of life for the individuals. It’s important to be enthusiastic and open.

When change is implemented the individual can go through 4 phases

1)      Denial and a sense of loss (Tiffany and Lutgens 1998).

2)      Confusion and hopelessness

3)      Exploration during this phase people are open to a level of acceptance and adjustment, it is during this phase that the manager must encourage involvement and participation

4)      Commitment comes with acceptance. It can be difficult to move a staff team from one phase to the other, not everyone moves at the same pace. It is up to the leader to develop interventions to move through different stages of change. (Tiffany and Lutgens 1998).

Communication should include facts face to face, the leader should walk the walk and not just talk the talk. Managers who implement change must receive communication from senior management as this can be effective to promote a positive change such as epicare, this in turn works best as the supervisor is interacting with the staff on a regular basis and have built up a trust therefore the project epicare is more likely to work.

Conflict Management

The ability to recognise conflict, understand the nature of conflict and to be able to bring quick and correct resolution to conflict will serve you well as a leader. Conflict is healthy and rarely resolves itself. It will normally escalate if not dealt with proactively and properly. If a leader does not recognise conflict or does nothing about it, the matter can sometimes escalate. A true leader will not get caught up with someone who is manipulative, they don’t play favourites, they will tackle conflict head on and find a resolution. Unresolved conflict can often result in loss of productivity and the stifling of creativity.

Conflict can be viewed as an opportunity to learn grow and develop by active listening, finding common ground and comprise. Resolution can normally be found with conflicts where there is a deep desire to do so.

References

• Murani, K. (2015). Impact of leadership styles on employee empowerment. India. Partridge.
• Harvey, N. (1997). The Challenge of Supervisory Management. Dublin. Oak Tree Press.
• Stansfield, A.W. (2009). Defining effective leadership. Oaklahoma. Take Publishing
• Bass, B M & Avolio, B J, Mc Live M (eds) (1994). Improving organisational effectiveness through transformational leadership. California, Sage Publications.
• Young, K. S., Wood, J.T., Philips, G. M., Pedersen, D. J. (2001). Group Discussion, A Practical Guide to Participation and Leadership (3^rd Edition) U.S.A. Waveland Press.
• Sullivan-Marx, E. M, Gray-Miceli, D. (2008). Leadership and Management skills for long term care. New York. Springer Publishing.
• Share, P. & Lalor, K. (2009). Applied Social Care an introduction for students in Ireland. (2^nd Edition). Dublin. Gill&Macmillian.
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• Myatt M. (2019) 5Keys of Dealing with Workplace Conflict. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sitesmikemyatt/2012/02/22/5-keys-to-dealing-with-workplace-conflict/ Accessed 01/06/2019.