Less administration, more time for care: The potential of digital assistants in social services

What challenges do social service organizations face today?  

Social service organizations are under significant pressure today. On the one hand, there is cost pressure, which is reflected in the societal issue of long-term care costs. On the other hand, there is a growing shortage of professionals, while documentation requirements and regulatory obligations continue to increase. This strain is particularly evident in the day-to-day work of care staff. A significant amount of their working time (up to 35%) is now spent on documentation and administration. Information is still sometimes recorded by hand and later transferred to a computer, which not only increases the risk of errors but also takes time that could be spent on direct client care.

On top of this is the increasing complexity of process and system landscapes. Many facilities work with different applications, media breaks, and manual intermediate steps. This creates additional work that distracts professionals from their actual tasks.

Demographic change is further exacerbating this trend. More people need support, while at the same time fewer professionals are available. For facilities, this means that to ensure the long-term quality of care, existing processes must be made more efficient so that professionals are relieved of some of their workload and have more time to devote to patient care.

  “During an eight-hour shift, about two and a half hours are spent on documentation and administrative tasks – this time isn’t available for client care.”

Dieter Weisshaar

Where do you see the most potential for reducing workload in everyday work?  

The greatest potential for reducing workload lies where a significant amount of time is currently lost: in documentation. A large amount of working time is still spent on manual documentation, duplicate data entry, and administrative tasks.

Integrated voice input and AI-powered assistance systems can provide targeted relief here. Reports and actions can be recorded via voice directly during care. Necessary forms can be processed with pre-filled fields, and data can be immediately integrated into existing workflows. This eliminates the need to go to a computer and transfer data retrospectively, leaving more time for quality care.

The digital integration of relatives also offers significant potential for reducing workload. For example, when relatives can independently view and coordinate appointments or access relevant billing, health, and vital data, inquiries are reduced, transparency is increased, and interruptions in daily care are minimized.

Further potential lies in administrative and admission processes. In many facilities, information is still entered into systems manually. By automatically scanning faxes, handwritten documents, and doctors’ notes, many of these steps can now be largely automated. As a result, staff no longer need to enter information entirely by hand but rather focus on verifying and supplementing it. The SIS(r) can already be suggested and supplemented. In admission processes, the time required can thus be reduced from five hours to about one hour.

This potential applies not only to care, but also to integration assistance, child and youth welfare, and other areas of the social sector. Wherever professionals need to document, coordinate, and organize, digital assistants can provide valuable support.

What does myneva mean by “digital assistants”?  

myneva intentionally refers to “digital assistants” because it’s not just about digitizing individual processes. Digital assistance is designed to actively support professionals in their day-to-day work – specifically in areas where complex workflows create additional burdens. It can make suggestions, send reminders, or summarize information, but humans always have the final say, because their expertise is essential.

With mobile applications and integrated voice input, staff can record actions or observations directly while providing care. Digital assistants, however, go a step further: they provide guidance, remind professionals of necessary steps in the process, and flag missing information or actions. The difference from traditional software is that digital assistants do more than just collect information. They actively support the execution of processes and help care staff complete tasks more efficiently. Digital assistants can also be helpful in outpatient care. For example, if a route changes last minute, the digital assistant notifies the staff of the change and highlights important information about the next assignment.

In the complex process of shift and route planning, digital assistants will achieve significantly better results that align with employees’ preferences. The final decision always remains with the professionals. Digital assistance is not intended to replace care staff, but rather to serve as a tool that provides guidance, streamlines processes, and supports people in their day-to-day work.

 “A digital assistant is designed to provide professionals with optimal support in their daily tasks – like a companion who is always there to help them do a good job.” 

Dieter Weisshaar

Why are isolated individual solutions not enough?  

Many organizations already use digital applications today. However, this often creates additional work in day-to-day operations because isolated solutions are not sufficiently integrated with one another. Information must be entered multiple times or transferred between different systems. This results in unnecessary data silos and complex processes.

A good example of this is speech recognition. Today, the ability to recognize many languages is no longer a technical novelty. What matters, however, is what happens next: If additional documentation is required for wound care or a fall, the corresponding process steps must be triggered automatically. Isolated, standalone solutions are often insufficient for this. Real relief only comes when digital assistance is directly integrated into core processes. Information is then not transferred or added later but flows directly into existing workflows.

For example, when a professional documents an incident using voice input, the necessary follow-up processes, notifications, or documentation requirements can be triggered automatically. This is precisely what sets out an isolated standalone solution apart from an integrated platform.

That is why myneva follows a platform strategy featuring deeply integrated digital assistants. Processes and systems are directly interconnected, eliminating the need to enter information multiple times or update it manually. This saves time and significantly reduces the administrative burden on professionals.

What does the responsible use of AI in the social sector mean?  

Trust, data protection, and security are of central importance, especially in the social sector. For myneva, the responsible use of AI therefore goes beyond traditional data protection.

We distinguish between data protection, data security, and data sovereignty. Data protection and data security safeguard sensitive information from unauthorized access. Data sovereignty means that organizations and their clients decide for themselves who is allowed to access their data and how it is used.

This is particularly relevant because modern AI systems rely on data to learn. Many international services process data on platforms outside Europe, which means it is not always possible to ensure that information remains protected and is not used for other purposes. However, this is especially critical when it comes to health and care data.

myneva therefore takes the approach of providing services on its own platforms in Europe and designing them in such a way that third parties cannot gain unauthorized access to data. Institutions retain full control over their data and decide for themselves whether to share information with doctors or other stakeholders, for example.

  “We need to help care professionals so they can be professionals again, not administrative staff.”  

Dieter Weisshaar

How will digital assistance change everyday work in the long term?  

Digital assistance creates relief by simplifying documentation and administrative tasks and reducing the workload. The goal is not to replace staff with technology, but to give them back their freedom. When less time needs to be spent on administrative tasks, there is more room for what many professionals choose their careers for: working with people and providing high-quality care.

Interacting with digital assistants is simple: you ask questions and get answers, you act and receive prompts and reminders, a handover can be created automatically, a report is requested as a question, and the assistant generates the report.

At the same time, digital assistance will not replace the professional expertise of employees. Given the growing demand for care and support services, qualified professionals remain indispensable. Rather, the goal is to streamline necessary administrative and documentation tasks as much as possible so that professionals can apply their skills where they are needed most – in direct work with people.

This means that digital assistance does not replace human labor but rather serves as a key component of a sustainable care system.  Funding for digital assistance must be made possible through future recognition of staff replacement or support measures, thereby enabling facilities to implement these initiatives.

Would you like to learn more?

Find out now how digital assistance reduces documentation efforts, streamlines processes, and gives professionals more time to focus on care.