High Impact Practices, as defined by the Canadian Home Care Association, are evidence-informed, innovative practices within the home and community care sector that enhance the quality and effectiveness of service and result in improved quality of life for clients and their families. By identifying and sharing High Impact Practices, the CHCA facilitates sharing and transferring of knowledge, expertise and experience. This case study describes one agency's implementation of a mobile technology system for personal care providers, known here south of the border as home health aides.

During a period of rapid growth, Heritage Health Care Services expanded from seven offices to twelve. During the same period, the Ohio, Medicare certified, home care agency reduced its cadre of regional branch managers from six to three. The story of how they used technology to accomplish these efficiencies is not one you have heard before. Though many swear it is neither efficient nor practical, Heritage has created an intriguing OASIS data entry system using a telephone, complete with full integration with the electronic patient record in the company's billing system.

Has your agency or hospice already deployed or are they seriously considering an electronic point-of-care system? In this environment, the tools you use now to manage office PCs will not keep up. It is time to learn from the big boys. What do large corporate IT departments do to track and keep safe a fleet of mobile computers? It does not have to be expensive.

Proper therapy utilization in home care has been in the news lately. Moving quickly, software vendor Delta Health Technologies has signed up to sponsor another Fazzi Associates research project designed to develop guidance for home health agencies on excellence in therapy services.

The "Mobile Clinical Assistant," based on a joint design by Intel and Microsoft, has been a popular version of the Tablet PC for more than three years. A new version has just been released by Motion Computing®. The Austin, Texas company built the new C5v around Intel's Core™ vPro™ processor, giving it 50% more speed and 30% longer battery life. Other specs, listed here, are equally impressive.