Beyond the delegation crisis: Lycksele's investment in assisted mode for compliance and flexibility

Ensuring safety across care settings

Lycksele municipality in Sweden, which already used Evondos in homecare, faced a unique and acute challenge within its nursing home environment: A high proportion of medication deviations, often caused by staff shortages. 

This study demonstrates how moving beyond the unit price of a basic dispenser and investing in a specialised feature (Evondos' full-service, purpose-built assisted mode) was a strategic decision to mitigate risk, restore compliance, and introduce unprecedented flexibility into their delegation-constrained staff planning. This investment ensures staff have the most reliable partner they can depend on to handle this complex environment.

The hidden cost of delegation risk

The challenge: Risk and rigidity in medication management

Lycksele's high medication deviation rate stemmed from a system where a single delegated staff member was responsible for medicines for all residents on the ward. This centralisation of risk created dual operational problems:

• Compliance failure: High deviation rates directly compromise patient safety and lead to increased internal risk and oversight costs.
• Delegation rigidity: Staff scheduling was inflexible, constrained by who held the delegation, meaning staff shortages immediately translated into safety risks and burnout (workforce empowerment).

The municipality needed a high-trust partner and a compliant solution to improve quality and safety and reduce these deviations, specifically by increasing flexibility in planning.

The goal: Strategic empowerment through technology

Lycksele’s objective was to decouple medication administration from strict delegation requirements using a high-trust, technical control layer that provides real value, safety and quality care. This investment was intended to:

• 1. Democratise administration: Enable more staff to participate in the handing over of medication, regardless of their delegation status.
• 2. Guarantee adherence: Implement a constant reminder function to avoid missing a dose, improving the quality and safety of medication delivery.

Evondos' comprehensive solution

Partnering for assisted mode compliance

Lycksele chose Evondos for its ability to provide a solution tailored specifically to the complexity of the nursing home environment — the Evondos assisted mode. This represents an investment in a full platform and partnership, not just a device.

Dedicated customer success partnership: The investment is backed by dedicated Customer Success Managers (CSMs), who are often highly trained with a care background. The CSMs guide the nursing home through the specific implementation of Assisted Mode, providing training, coaching on best practices and ensuring staff can adopt the new, safer ways of working. This vital, ongoing support is a key value add and ensures the successful integration of health tech.

This feature transformed the device from an independent client tool into a controlled workflow device for the staff:

• Internal safety control: The robot is locked for the user but staff can take out medication and distribute it to the right person.
• Risk mitigation: The system alerts staff immediately if the medicine is not taken out, providing a good reminder function to avoid missing a dose.
• Simplified administration: Staff trained on the robot can administer medication to patients, facilitating delegation of the task and improving safety and adherence.

This combination of premium hardware, innovative software, and expert human support proves that Lycksele invested in the best-in-class partner with an unmatched track record of reliability and compliance.

Shifting workflow to shared responsibility

The assisted mode allowed Lycksele to strategically increase flexibility in planning. By using the robot to manage the actual dispensing mechanism, responsibility could be safely shared among staff. This meant people who were not approved to delegate medication could still, with the robot's help, administer it, ensuring that more staff were able to do more.

Quantified value: The measurable return on investment

Outcome-driven results

The strategic investment in Evondos assisted mode delivered immediate operational and safety value.

Safety, trust & compliance: Deviation reduction

The primary objective of safer medication management and deviation reduction was directly addressed.

• Improved quality and safety: The robot served as an integral tool, increasing safety and adherence of medication.
• Immediate alert system: The immediate alert function ensures that a nurse can decide on the appropriate action if a medicine is not taken out, making the system safe but easier to share responsibility. This system ensures medication safety and adherence are guaranteed, helping to provide independence at scale.

Workforce empowerment: Planning flexibility

The investment directly addressed the challenges of staff rigidity and reliance on delegated staff.

• Increased staff flexibility: The decision to choose Evondos was explicitly to increase flexibility in planning, making staff less dependent on delegated personnel.
• Capacity distribution: The ability for more staff to administer medication meant the workload could be more evenly distributed, reducing pressure on individual staff members. This gives staff more control and frees up time for quality care where a human touch is needed.

Cost-conscious innovation: Avoiding hidden costs

While specific monetary data is not public, the savings are realised through the avoidance of costs associated with high deviation rates and staff churn.

• Mitigating deviations: Reducing medication deviations protects the organisation from costly errors, investigation time and potential legal exposure.
• Improving planning: Facilitating scheduling flexibility acts as a cost-saving measure by optimising resource deployment and decreasing reliance on expensive agency staff during shortfalls.

Why Lycksele chose investment over risk

For Lycksele, the investment in Evondos was a crucial strategic move: They purchased guaranteed medication safety, restored flexibility to staff scheduling and mitigated the costly operational risks associated with delegation, proving the long-term value of a compliant, purpose-built partner. 

That decision now empowers their care organization to use their resources wisely, allowing them to focus on the care tasks that cannot be automatized, leading to happier staff and better outcomes for residents.

Ready to see the Evondos impact for yourself? Speak to us today to find out how we can provide the long-term value and strategic partnership needed to future-proof your healthcare service.