Why small home care providers are being left behind by software

Small home care providers make up a significant share of the sector, particularly in regional and community-based services. Yet as care becomes more complex and expectations rise, many are operating with technology that was never designed for the clinical, governance and risk environment they now face.

In an interview with The Weekly SOURCE, Leecare CEO Caroline Lee argues that the software gap between large and small providers is becoming a structural risk for the sector.

“Smaller providers don’t have the luxury of large IT teams or bespoke systems,” Caroline says. “But they’re being held to the same expectations around safety, quality and clinical oversight.”

Historically, small providers relied on relatively simple systems, or even manual processes, because care was lower acuity and operations were manageable at scale. That model is breaking down. Clients now present with higher clinical needs, staff are more dispersed, and regulatory scrutiny continues to increase.

For small providers, the challenge is not resistance to technology, but access to fit-for-purpose systems.

Many platforms have been designed with large organisations in mind: complex, expensive, and resource-intensive to implement. Others focus narrowly on billing and compliance, offering little support for clinical assessment, risk management or workforce safety.

“Software has to work for the provider you are today, not the one you might become in five years,” Caroline says.

Small providers also face sharper consequences when systems fail. With limited back-office capacity, errors are harder to absorb, incidents are more exposed, and reliance on individual staff knowledge is higher. When someone leaves, critical knowledge often leaves with them.

This is where software becomes an equaliser - or a divider.

Accessible, intuitive systems can embed clinical prompts, guide decision-making and support staff who may be working alone across large geographic areas. Poorly designed systems, by contrast, increase administrative burden and push risk back onto already stretched teams.

Lee argues that technology should reduce complexity for small providers, not add to it.

“If software creates more work, more confusion or more risk, it’s failing its purpose,” she says.

As care continues to shift into the home and clinical expectations rise, small providers face a pivotal question: can their systems support safe, sustainable care - or are they being quietly left behind by a sector that is moving faster than their tools?