The Next Generation of Software

Techota’s  History:

In 2007 Techota acquired two home health care agencies as incubators to design and deploy our software.  One agency was rural and the other urban. The rural/urban choice was driven by the fact that the health needs of older people is diverse  - based on their environment and access to health care. Their needs are often influenced by income level, living arrangements, and the necessity for physical and psycho/social support.  

Seniors are living longer. In the past century, life expectancy has increased by approximately 30 years.  This massive shift in the country’s demographics places higher demands on the healthcare system. Older Americans are becoming a larger portion of the population, and they will need more health care as they age.  The predominant health problems of this population are chronic rather than acute, and are exacerbated by the normal changes of aging and the increased risk of illness associated with the aging process.

Techota’s challenge was to rethink every aspect of care for this older population. Complicated patients with multiple comorbidities did not fit into the usual care systems.   We designed software applications to measure patient conditions under a different set of controls. Our standards of care recognize that treatments appropriate in healthier populations may not be relevant to frail individuals who are in their 80s and 90s.  

The two agencies provided our software design team with the opportunity to use evidenced-based data rather than build systems in an isolated manner.  Our home health nurses, home health aides, patient advocates, and therapy staff played key roles as team members and leaders as we designed our integrated patient-centered health care system.  No single model of care will be able to meet the needs of all individuals who receive home health care; but our focus has been to design systems that improve the quality of services, outcomes, and cost-effectiveness of health care for the aging population.

Our nurses provide services based on clinical maps and interventions that are organized around each patient's goals.  These maps are targeted for patients who are frail and the sickest. These maps group patients into Low Risk, Rising Risk, and High Risk categories.

Our Patient Advocates are health coaches who assist patients with barriers as they are identified.  Many patients require assistance with transportation to their primary care physician, nutrition, home safety services, communication, and financial services.

Our home health aides assist with personal care, but additionally act as a conduit for the reporting of symptoms to the RN, designed around patient-specific protocols that address problems pertinent to the individual patient.

Our therapists create treatment plans in conjunction with the patient’s primary care physician to include goals to help the patient function, move, and better live in their home environment.