The workforce behind home care
Home and community care depend on having people with the required skills available where care is needed. PHI's 2025 report projected 9.7 million US direct-care job openings from 2024 to 2034, including replacement demand. That figure covers direct care broadly, not just new home-health jobs.
For providers, the planning question is specific: which services can the available workforce deliver, with what travel, continuity and working arrangements? Scheduling technology needs to represent those requirements and accommodate changes during the day.
1. Patient preferences and care settings
Record relevant patient preferences, availability and continuity needs alongside the care requirements. Customer-facing booking or request tools should reflect the service the provider can offer, with an appropriate review process and alternatives for people who need help.
“Consumers continue to expect greater control over how, when, and by whom services are delivered, and systems need to support that flexibility while operating within increasingly structured funding and compliance frameworks.”
Rebecca Rawlinson — Strategy Director, Healthcare and Human Services, Skedulo
A provider may coordinate home visits, virtual appointments and services at fixed locations. Planning across those settings requires clear work types, availability and travel assumptions. Schedulers need reported progress and a way to contact the team when the plan changes.
2. Administrative work and staff experience
Review the tasks surrounding each visit: finding information, documenting work, contacting the office and arranging follow-up. UKG's 2025 study found that 76% of surveyed frontline workers reported burnout, but the sample covered several industries. It does not establish which tasks cause burnout in a particular care team.
“People work in care because they care. When they are asked to spend more time behind a computer or phone screen than talking to the people they support, it drives them away from the sector.”
Rebecca Rawlinson — Skedulo
AI-assisted summaries or draft notes may be worth evaluating where the product, permissions and clinical governance support them. Confirm current functionality, test accuracy and define who reviews the output. Do not assume a generated summary is complete or suitable for a clinical decision.
McKinsey described a utility service center that improved field productivity by 20-30% during a six-week smart-scheduling initiative. That is evidence from a different setting, not a forecast of healthcare productivity or retention. A provider needs its own baseline and assessment.
3. Service records and regulatory requirements
Requirements differ by jurisdiction and service. In the US, the Cures Act requires states to implement electronic visit verification for Medicaid personal care and home health services requiring an in-home visit. In Australia, the Aged Care Act 2024 and Support at Home program commenced on November 1, 2025. Providers should review applicable funding, privacy, workforce and documentation requirements with the responsible specialists; the frameworks are not interchangeable.
“AI is helping take some of the hard thinking out of decision-making. With strong policies built into your system, you can use AI to help people make the right decisions in the moment, not catch errors afterward.”
Rebecca Rawlinson — Skedulo
Scheduling can use recorded qualifications, visit requirements and working rules to support allocation. The provider still needs current records, appropriate verification and a process for exceptions. Mobile work records can document delivery, but a timestamp or location alone does not establish that all clinical or funding requirements were met.
4. Capabilities to evaluate
Assess the following against your current work and priorities. Some capabilities may need configuration, integration or a separate product; they are not a promise of what every scheduling platform delivers.
- Optimization that considers defined working hours, breaks, qualifications, travel and other requirements. Schedulers need to review the effect of competing objectives.
- Cost-aware scheduling using reliable cost data and agreed assumptions. Confirm what the system can calculate and how the estimate relates to actual costs.
- Demand forecasting that estimates upcoming work and uncertainty, with enough lead time to adjust capacity.
- Mobile experiences that make visit details, forms and communication practical in the field. Evaluate AI-assisted interactions separately, including privacy, review and safe device use.
- Hybrid workforce management that represents field visits, virtual appointments and shift-based work using appropriate availability and travel rules.
“Schedulers in healthcare are not comfortable with decisions taken completely out of their hands. AI needs to be supportive, working alongside the people who actually know the patients and the workforce.”
Rebecca Rawlinson — Skedulo
Teams need to understand what information a suggestion used, which constraints it considered and what an approved action will change. Test how the system responds to missing data and conflicting requirements. Clinical and operational authority should remain explicit.
5. Priorities for the next investment
Choose a problem the team can define and measure, such as travel, allocation effort or missing visit records. Evaluate the workflow with schedulers and care staff, then include data preparation, integration and training in the rollout plan.
Explore Skedulo for home healthcare: bring together scheduling, Mobile and the additional records and workflows your operation needs on our Pulse Platform. Talk to an Expert.
