Emily
Brown

Improving care for the elderly with the help of Hexnode MDM

Emily Brown

Jan 28, 2021

7 min read

For me, it’s being able to put a smile on a resident’s face as they have all become like family to me and I love to see them happy.

– Diane Audis, caregiver at Orchard Care Homes.

This is not a sentiment exclusive to Diane. Everyone at Orchard Care homes, from the health professionals to the staff, would probably say something along these lines. Orchard Care Homes is an award-winning care service provider in the United Kingdom that has been home to a multitude of elderly who needs special care and attention for over a decade. We can judge a society solely based on how it treats its elderly. The elders are the ones who have invested their years for the betterment of the next generation, and they deserve to be taken care of with love and affection. 

Happy resident, Happy Home
Happy resident = Happy home

Providing quality care is rewarding but is not exactly very easy. It is an effort from each and every individual working together as a team. To make caring easier and more efficient for the staff, the organization has deployed over 1000 devices across 40+ care homes in the country. The health of the residents takes utmost priority. The organization installed a care-monitoring application in these devices that helps the staff monitor the daily activities of the residents. The app records activities like meal in-take, walks, exercise, medication, and everything else related to the residents. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
 

Alas, even the greatest technology comes with its own challenges. When the application was initially installed in the deployed devices, users would often change the device and network settings, and the IT team would have to manually change the settings back each time. This may be alright for one or two devices, but when it is on a scale of 1000+ devices, the task becomes tedious, repetitive, and simply a waste of precious time. Sometimes, (after all, we are only human), the users would access apps that are not related to work and decrease the overall productivity. This was really a huge cause of concern. As we can guess, slacking off is not even an option in the caregiving industry. It could be a matter of life and death.

Nurse taking pic with resident
Let’s take a selfie!

Tracking, monitoring and managing more than 1000 devices across different locations turned out to waste a lot of time and manpower. The requirements were simple. A software solution to centrally manage the devices. It would be even more perfect if these devices were locked down so that the users are unable to access anything except for the necessary application. 
 

One of our service providers recommended Hexnode,…they were quite happy to recommend you guys.

says Ross Lee, IT infrastructure and Support Manager at Orchard Care Homes.  

Hexnode turned out to perfectly satisfy all their requirements. 

Locking the device into a single app? Check. Change Wi-Fi profiles centrally without user interaction? Check. Ease of use? Check. Get rid of annoying notifications? Check. Value pricing? Check!  

Compared to other MDMs in the market, it’s probably one of the value for money

says Ross, after researching and trying the different solutions in the market. 

What do you mean by Single App Mode? 

Single App Mode enables a locked-down experience on the devices by locking them down to a single application. The users are not able to access the non-essential applications and device settings in Single App Mode.

Single App Mode is one of the many Kiosk Modes offered by Hexnode. Depending on the device operating system, the devices can be locked down into Multi App Mode, Web App Mode, or even as a Digital Signage Display. 

Where can you deploy the Single App Mode? 

Using a suitable MDM solution that supports Kiosk mode, you can lock down your Android and iOS devices, Windows machines, and Apple TVs into a single app. 

For example, with Hexnode, the IT admin can lock down these devices into a single store app, an enterprise app or a web app. The store apps are downloaded from the Play Store. The Web apps are Web URLs added as apps using Hexnode 

Why not a Kiosk Software? Why MDM? 

There is no dearth of alternative software for locking down your devices into Kiosk Mode. There are Kiosk applications for Android devices, Guided Access Mode for iOS devices and Assigned Access for Windows machines. However, using an MDM to do the same comes with numerous advantages: 

  • Multi-platform support – Choosing an MDM with multi-platform support is an obvious advantage to business looking to lock devices with different operating systems. 
  • Data and Cybersecurity – Define your own compliance rules for the devices and get notified when the devices go out of compliance. Coupling Kiosk Mode with Enterprise Wi-Fi would play an active part in preventing data breaches and cyber-attacks. The location tracking feature will ensure that the devices aren’t stolen or lost. 
  • Minimizes cost of operation – Businesses have to make smart choices where the finances are concerned. Using MDM software instead of dedicated kiosks highly reduces the costs of operation and entirely eliminates the cost of setting up new hardware. 

It is important to choose an MDM solution that supports all the required features. We recommend that you should try the free trials offered and make the decision after suitable research. 

Check out our blog on single app mode to learn more. 

What do we mean by managing Wi-Fi profiles centrally?  

Often, the work devices that are deployed to the users are connected to the company network. Using the company network ensures that the sensitive data is not flowing through any unauthorized network. With Hexnode, the IT admin can configure the Wi-Fi network from the remote web portal, and assign it to the devices. The devices would get automatically connected to the configured Wi-Fi network without prompting the user for the password. Using a single web portal, the admin is able to configure and manage the network settings for all the enrolled devices centrally. 

 

…Hexnode MDM has an amazing support team

gushes Daniel Hopkins, the senior network administrator at Smoky Mountain Health and Hospice. 

Smoky Mountain Health and Hospice, Inc, located in Newport, Tennessee, is another award-winning health agency that focuses on elderly care services and disease management programs. The organization strives for personalized care and customized services for each patient.  

Doctor getting the patient details
Patient monitoring made easy
 

The agency uses an Electronic Health Records (EHR) software to monitor the treatments and to keep track of the patient records. This EHR app is installed on hundreds of iPads that have been deployed to the nursing staff. Daniel needed a solution to manage hundreds of these devices from one place. 

Hexnode offers a comprehensive set of features… It is a great MDM software

says Daniel after using Hexnode to manage the iPads from a single web portal.  

Daniel needed an MDM solution that allowed him to deploy apps, lock the iPads into either single or multi-app mode and configure password compliance policies to secure the iPads. The MDM also had to be compliant with HIPAA for the healthcare organization to use it. 

What is HIPAA compliance? 

HIPAA or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was passed by the United States government in 1996. The act was passed to protect the privacy of the patient information and data. HIPAA defines restrictions over sharing of PHI or Protected Health Information.  

Download the HIPAA compliance checklist to learn how Hexnode helps you to get compliant. 

…Hexnode MDM greatly simplifies our workflow

says Daniel, full of praise for the device management solution.

Care homes around the world are using Hexnode to achieve higher standards of care for the elderly. Good health is the greatest gift we can hope for, and it stands to reason that we use the technology available to maximize the potential of the healthcare industry. 
 

 

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Emily Brown

Reading is therapy and writing is healing...sincerely, a cool nerd.

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