Interested in ATLAS eMAR? The training and onboarding process couldn’t have been simpler for Parkhaven Trust

Beccy Incledon-Blevin, Community Services Manager for Parkhaven Trust, discusses how one of its homes, James Page House, has seen immediate benefits from Person Centred Software’s eMAR system (also known as ATLAS eMAR) after a seamless onboarding and training process.  

Before we decided to implement Person Centred Software’s eMAR system, we were already using their digital care planning system, and it really fed nicely into that; the integration was smooth, and it will only get smoother in the future. We felt confident in investing and furthering our partnership with PCS because we were already finding so much success with the digital care planning system, and with PCS we knew that we were going to be dealing with a company that would support us through every step of the journey, as they had done already, so it was an easy decision to make. 

In terms of the onboarding and training process for implementing eMAR, the support team that helped us were just phenomenal. The quality of the training was so high and gave us so much knowledge that we were essentially able to get the system up and running straight away.  

We really felt supported on every step of the journey; the instructions and guidance were simple but very effective, and this step-by-step help meant that everything just naturally fell into place, and what also made the difference was how warm and friendly and knowledgeable everyone at PCS was.  

We’ve really been able to see the difference between using ATLAS eMAR and other systems used previously, and that experience has shown us that PCS and their digital tools are head and shoulders above the others. 

How does the onboarding and training process work? 

The process starts with e-learning courses. In the beginning two managers and I were onboarded, we were provided with sessions on managing the learning pathways for staff, making the process very straightforward mainly because the system itself its very intuitive and easy to understand.  

You can choose learning pathways based on the particular responsibilities of each job, there are different pathways for carers, nurses, managers – anybody involved in the provision of care. 

The system isn’t overly complicated but still gives you all the support you need, being clear and well defined, so that when you’re ready to launch, you feel confident that you can hit the ground running and start making a real difference straight away.

How it helped with pharmacy relationships 

Using ATLAS eMAR is the first time we or our pharmacy have used a digital product for medications, and while initially there were some difficulties with the change, we managed to move past this because the pharmacy was able to see the benefits for themselves when I took a handset to them to show them how easy it has been to use. I even gave them a handset to use themselves, so that they could set up a staff profile and see what we could see; this proved to be a real difference maker for them. After seeing it first hand, they were as excited as we are. 

A more streamlined, two-way process 

We’re finding that it’s speeding the process up for pharmacies just as much as it is for us, because medications are coming through and they’re being delivered very quickly and efficiently, and for the staff the feedback has been very positive. They love the fact that the clarity of the system means you can look at the prescription and see immediately what is required, rather than having to print off the MAR chart – overall it really helps to streamline medications for us and the pharmacy. 

I really can’t fault the system at all, I've got nothing negative to say about it. The process of onboarding for us was really straightforward and helpful, and we felt confident in how to make the most of it from day one.  

A bright future for medication management with ATLAS eMAR 

As we move forward, I’m looking forward to utilising the level of reporting that ATLAS eMAR brings, which will help us to maintain much greater oversight of how we are managing medications and how we are tracking the medications that residents are taking and how effective they are. I’m excited to see just how much the amount of information that ATLAS eMAR can give us will transform resident wellbeing and our ability to gather evidence for internal audits and regulatory inspections.  

Benefits from day one 

We’ve already started to see how the data is helping us to make decisions to improve our medications management, and I’m looking forward to realising the full benefits and potential of ATLAS eMAR. 

This is just the beginning for us, but it has been a very positive start, and for anybody looking to invest in a digital system for medications management just as we were, I’d say that the risk is absolutely worth taking for the benefits it’ll bring.  

ATLAS eMAR has shown us that digital tools are the future of care, and if you want to take that journey, then Person Centred Software will be there to help you every step of the way. 

If you want to find out more about how ATLAS eMAR can benefit your medication management, just click here to book a consultation and speak with one of our experts.