• Integration

We have a partnership arrangement with The Access Group already in place for BetterCare Finance (for Mosaic customers), and are in discussions with various others. We are technology/platform agnostic – we can integrate with anyone. We suggest that anyone who has integration questions gets in touch for a detailed discussion which will include how best we integrate the BetterCare suite with your existing systems.

• Does this work out partner calculations?

Yes it does. Each BetterCare Finance implementation is completely bespoke and is built around your local charging policy, including partner calculations if required.

• Does it show the ‘threshold’ amount used in the calculation? And does the system work out accurately which threshold to apply as they do not all relate to the amount of PIP etc in payment?

Yes it can do this  – all this kind of information is captured during the onboarding process. As long as you can describe your policy/requirements to us then we can implement this within the form, each implementation is completely bespoke.

• Can the user challenge the amount calculated?

Yes, users can challenge the amount calculated but this is typically done outside of BetterCare Finance. From a BetterCare Finance perspective, as long as the user has entered the right information, then it will be correct. It is a standardised calculation for all users that is completely aligned with local charging policies so it will always be accurate and will lead to less contests. In addition, we add curated content in appropriate locations across the form to let people know that the amount may change once appropriate checks have been completed.

• Is it an online-only tool?

It is built in a ‘mobile first’/responsive way to work on any device. It also has an in-built offline mode to handle those cases where connectivity is an issue. This has proven useful in cases where officers still need to go into someone’s home and work with them to complete their assessment. This feature removes the need for connectivity and sees all the data sync back to the main system when a connection is reestablished. 

• What about income maximisation – does anyone identify income shortfall?

BetterCare Finance has a specialised “income maximisation” module that sits flawlessly within the platform and provides exactly that. For more information, please view our Income Maximisation module here. We include a demo of this as part of a deeper dive BetterCare Finance demo, which we recommend.

• Retention periods for data – as it looks like data will need to be kept ‘forever’?

Yes data is retained indefinitely unless otherwise directed. The service user has full control over their data to be GDPR-compliant.

• What reporting tools are used to get management information (MI) out of the system?

We have a bespoke admin console which provides a host of data – registrations, assessments started/completed/submitted and various other metrics. A key aspect of the admin console is the ability for council staff to ‘clone’ a submitted assessment and make changes (based on Searchlight or CIS information for example), so you can instantly get an updated and accurate cost of care contribution amount without having to engage in  a ‘to and fro’ conversation with the service user. All reporting data can also be downloaded in a structured format for wider reporting using your own tools.

• This assumes that all users are computer literate or have the means ie, internet, computers etc to be able to do this. Not all of those who require care will be able to use this system, is there an alternative arrangement for those people?

Kirklees and others are seeing a 100% user take up through the product and this is done through a combination of the animations shown, a considered user-led design process and carefully curated content throughout the site. The advocacy features enable friends, family or council officers to securely assist a service user in real time – all with appropriate security safeguards built in. This allows those who can self-serve to do so and free up staff time to deal with those vulnerable or complex cases that require additional support.

• Interested to hear experience and planned approach to self-assessment and how this might be completed by a person drawing on care and/with support from their families and informal carers and validation of those proxies?

Looking Local has many years of experience of delivering self-serve with the right information/guidance throughout. The platform also features an advocacy support tool, where a service user can grant remote access to a trusted friend/family member or member of council staff to give them temporary (and secure) access to their financial assessment form to assist/review on their behalf without needing to be there in person.

• Does the Care and Support Assessment give information on the difference between a non-residential commissioned package of care and a Direct Payment?

The ‘Suggestions’ feature within BetterCare Support can signpost the end user to specific local content / information / resources / services / organisations and is configured in such a way that it’s presented to the user tailored to their specified areas of need. This is customised on a customer-by-customer basis.

• Does the Better Care Support system signpost people to community resources in addition to LA services?

Yes. This is customised on a customer-by-customer basis, and signposted content is configured in such a way that its relevant / tailored to the user’s self-assessment responses.

• How did you change the culture to a more digital approach?

Over the last few years we’ve learnt a great deal about culture change and the move to self serve/digital, we would happily share these learnings as part of any implementation to all our customers.

• How will your platforms work for self funders?

BetterCare Support will engage with self-funders and enable the service user to establish their eligible care needs and use the digital IPB tool to track their independent personal budget figure and spend against their care cap – all without creating additional traffic at the council’s door.
Typically, self-funders will not need to complete a full financial assessment form, information regarding what is classified as a self-funder is provided at the beginning of the form.