Discharge and reablement
Faster, safer discharge with remote risk profiling
Howz enhances hospital discharge for vulnerable people by providing real-time risk profiling and analytics at home. We use intelligent monitoring to get an accurate assessment of a user, instantly escalating any issues that require attention to the right people through tiered alerts.
Case studies
Real examples of people returning home, and how monitoring shaped their care.
Confirming safe, independent bathroom visits after a brain injury
- How they presented
- Referred from health services after a road traffic accident and brain injury rehabilitation, returning to independent living with social care support.
- Work done
- A 2-week comparison. In week one they had a high care package including waking-night checks. In week two daytime care was reduced and there were no night visits. Motion sensors around the property and a front door sensor showed how they managed.
- Results
- They used the bathroom independently overnight and slept consistently well, whether or not night checks were in place. The care team removed night visits and moved to daytime-only care.
£30,000 a year in care costs avoided, with the care package right-sized without compromising safety.
Stepping down round-the-clock care after a stroke
- How they presented
- An older adult discharged home with 24-hour care after a stroke. The council needed to know how they had settled in and whether their care needs had changed.
- Work done
- An 8-week assessment (4 weeks, extended over the festive period) using an extensive sensor pack to track independent movement, particularly overnight.
- Results
- They moved around the home more over time, spending less time in the bedroom and more in the kitchen and living areas, with a stable, restful night-time routine. Care was reduced from 24 hours a day to 2 hours 15 minutes a day.
£80,000 a year saved, from a weekly care cost reduction of £1,500, with more independence and mobility at home.
Reducing daily care visits after a fall and UTI
- How they presented
- Referred from health services after a hospital stay for a urinary tract infection and a fall. They had 1 hour 30 minutes of care a day, and the council wanted an objective view of their long-term needs.
- Work done
- A 4-week assessment with door sensors on the front door and fridge, smart plugs on the kettle and microwave, and motion sensors in the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and landing.
- Results
- They were getting to the bathroom independently at night and making hot drinks between care visits. Going home was confirmed as the right decision, and daily care was reduced from 1 hour 30 minutes to 40 minutes.
£8,200 a year saved, by removing one care visit a day.
Catching an emerging health issue early after ICU discharge
- How they presented
- An 86-year-old discharged from intensive care after a fall, returning home with four care visits a day. Their son checked in daily using the Howz family app.
- Work done
- A 2-month assessment with kettle, door and motion sensors. The family app gave real-time visibility and low-activity alerts.
- Results
- After two weeks a low-activity alert flagged a stomach problem, which led to medical help. Once they had recovered, their routine settled and stayed stable, and care was reduced from four visits a day to one.
£22,000 a year saved, with a health issue caught before it escalated.
Reablement and admission avoidance
Howz facilitates safe and timely hospital discharge for individuals with cognitive impairments, enabling a smooth transition home as soon as it is safe.
Our adaptable care prescriptions support homes with spousal carers and multi-occupancy housing, and can integrate with health and environmental sensors for enhanced monitoring. Our platform also helps local care organisations give targeted support to people at risk of hospital admission, reducing unnecessary admissions and readmissions.
Every user discharged with Howz avoids further time away from home and can return to their lives faster.
A scalable solution to delayed transfer of care
Discharges delayed due to homecare capacity
Waiting for care home admission
Waiting for short term rehabilitation
Discharge risk profiling
Howz use intelligent monitoring to track patient performance against the key risks at discharge, and apply analytics and machine learning to assess if and how at-home behaviour is elevating any risks. We immediately see when a risk profile has changed and point to the exact area of concern to address.
The key risks assessed in real-time
Our intelligent monitoring is engineered to provide clinical answers to clinical questions that assess each risk individually
Escalation factor tracking
Each risk has its own driving factors. We isolate the behaviours you need to know for accurate risk profiling
Workforce productivity gains
Accurate risk insight informs the right conversations, making teams more productive and extending capacity
Tiered alerts and escalation
We provide a range of alerts based on real-time performance against risk factors, from instant call elevation, to recommendations of care visits and even step-down opportunities.
Our analytics integrate with clinical monitoring teams and home care providers as well as health and social care platforms.
Graded alerts based on risk elevation
Our graded risk profiling informs an intervention-led approach so the right people can step in based on individual need
Daily emails guiding care planning
We provide instantly accessible reports with traffic light assessments that prioritise the sites that need to be reviewed, so you don’t need to waste time logging in to dashboards
Engagement of families
Successful discharge at home often relies on an informal network that can support a service user with their longer term reablement. Howz engages families by providing an app that illustrates how their loved one is getting on, and empowers them to offer home support.
Reassures patient and family
Howz significantly reduces the anxiety of users and families who are worried if they will be ok at home. Our round-the-clock analytics provide the comfort that’s needed to expedite discharge
Engages family in home support
With a real-time view of how a loved one is adjusting to being at home, families have the information they need to check in more frequently and provide practical assistance and support
View level of family support when assessing discharge
The Howz app tracks family engagement so teams can consider the level of support available when assessing discharge in a home environment
Insight at individual, cohort and population level
Our north star is the accuracy and dependability of our data and recommendations. Working with University of Lancaster, Howz algorithms are built on deep scientific rigour. Our changepoint analytics pinpoint the most critical information you need to know at an individual, cohort and population level.
Users analysed as individuals
Howz understands every user as an individual with their own personal rhythms, and profiles their risks according to those. We do not view people as anomalies in batched data, but in accordance with their own unique cadences.
Cohort-level analysis
We accurately inform you of the most high risk individuals within your discharge cohorts so you can mobilise your teams accordingly. Our cohort status reports inform decisions in 3 minutes
Advancing knowledge base at population-level
We share data and insight to advance the knowledge base about discharge management. We inform future decisions about what constitutes successful and failed discharge
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