Revolutionizing Care Work with AI: Uniting's Buddy App to the Rescue
Uniting NSW.ACT is transforming the way care workers engage with administrative tasks, leveraging the power of Generative AI (GenAI) to create a digital gateway for carers. The organization has developed 'Buddy', an innovative application that aims to reduce the time-consuming admin burden on frontline care workers, allowing them to focus more on their clients.
But here's the game-changer: Buddy, built using Azure OpenAI Service, enables care workers to effortlessly record in-home visits and access vital policy information. This means no more tedious paperwork or time-wasting searches for policies. Instead, care workers can swiftly complete these tasks on their mobile devices, saving 15-20 minutes per transaction!
And this is where it gets even more exciting. Employees can now access Uniting's intranet and essential enterprise systems, such as HR and payroll, directly from their smartphones. No more logging in from a company center; it's all at their fingertips.
Uniting's CIO, Andrew Dome, revealed the impact of this innovation at the Gartner IT Symposium: "We're talking about giving back 15 minutes to our employees every time they use Buddy. That's a significant chunk of their day, which they can now dedicate to our customers." He emphasized the goal of enhancing the quality of care by maximizing the time spent with clients.
Uniting, a leader in residential and community care, serves a vast customer base of 160,000, with 118,000 receiving care at home. The development of Buddy began when Microsoft approached Uniting, recognizing their readiness to embrace GenAI. Dome proudly stated, "We were ready to innovate, and our stable foundational platforms allowed us to do just that."
The journey started 12 months ago with Microsoft partner HSO, who built the enterprise infrastructure for Buddy on Azure. Simultaneously, Uniting embarked on a genAI case study to enhance policy accessibility for employees. Dome explained, "We chose a low-risk approach, using publicly available data within our ecosystem." This strategy ensured a smooth transition to AI-powered policy access.
Here's where Buddy shines: Care workers can now access policy and procedure information via a chatbot, along with scenario-based instructions. The app also transcribes case notes from home visits, eliminating the need for manual typing. This feature alone saves valuable time, as previously, workers had to travel to a Uniting center to log call notes.
With Buddy, care workers simply record notes verbally on their smartphones, and the app does the rest. These notes are then seamlessly integrated into Uniting's care management system, ensuring efficiency and accuracy.
The impact is significant. Uniting's 9000 employees, each seeing 5-6 clients daily, are now saving one to two hours per day. This extra time is spent providing quality care to customers, fulfilling Uniting's core mission.
But is this the ultimate solution for care workers' administrative woes? What other creative ways can AI be used to support frontline workers? Share your thoughts in the comments, and let's explore the possibilities together.
