Send the right nurse, carer or technician to each home and bill what was done.

Care in a home runs on a visit. A nurse changes a wound dressing, a physiotherapist works through a session plan and a phlebotomist draws blood before breakfast. A technician delivers an oxygen concentrator to a bedroom, so each visit needs the right person, address and paperwork before the van leaves.

The trades record different things. Home nursing agencies keep care plans, doctor orders and medication administration charts, while caregiver agencies and in-home care providers keep shift rosters and daily task lists for each client. Sample collectors keep tube barcodes and a cold-chain log of cool box temperatures, since a warm tube is a spoiled one. Equipment renters keep serial numbers, deposits and service dates, and assisted living communities keep room, meal and incident records for every resident.

Families, referring doctors and insurers all ask for proof afterwards, and the answer should not depend on one coordinator’s memory. Proof of the visit. Proof of the hours. Proof that the sample reached the laboratory. Software that ties the plan, the field entry and the invoice together can answer each of those questions from a single record, whichever trade made the visit.