Voices: Andrew O’connell, Product Director At Maxwell Tec

This article is sponsored by Maxwell TEC. As home-based care providers look to strengthen patient and caregiver communication, expectations are shifting beyond simple reminders toward smarter, more connected engagement. Maxwell TEC is helping agencies rethink how communication platforms can support care delivery without losing the human touch. In this Voices interview, Andrew O’Connell, Product Director at Maxwell TEC, shares where communication is headed in home care and hospice, how AI can enhance connection without feeling impersonal, and what will separate the organizations that thrive in 2026 from those that fall behind.

Home Health Care News: What core experience shaped the way you view home-based care today?

Andrew O’Connell: My perspective on home-based care has really been shaped by my time at Maxwell TEC. Because we’re involved in so many different facets of the space, I’ve had the opportunity to see the challenges and opportunities from multiple angles, not just through one narrow lens.

A big part of that has also been the people around me. I’ve been fortunate to work alongside colleagues with deep industry experience and long tenure, and that kind of shared knowledge has been incredibly valuable. Between those internal perspectives and my interactions with customers, I’ve developed a much broader understanding of what providers are up against and what it really takes to support care in the home effectively.

Where is patient and caregiver communication headed in home care and hospice over the next three to five years, and why?

Patient and caregiver communication is headed toward relationship-based communication at scale. Home care and hospice sit right at the intersection of clinical guidance, family dynamics and daily life, so people need communication that is timely, easy to understand and emotionally supportive, not just technically delivered.

Over the next three to five years, the platforms that stand out will be the ones that can deliver the right message in the right tone at the right time, without forcing patients and caregivers to learn new apps or navigate complicated workflows. That matters even more in a setting where communication is high-volume, high-variability and often deeply personal.

That’s why we see SMS as such an important channel, especially for older adults. For many patients, downloading an app, remembering a password or managing notifications just adds friction. Texting meets people where they already are. But the value is not just in sending a text. It’s in designing communication that feels clear, readable and reassuring through plain language, predictable timing, accessible formatting and simple ways for patients or caregivers to respond and confirm understanding.

When you get that right, SMS becomes more than a channel. It becomes a practical bridge to better adherence, fewer missed visits and stronger trust between providers, patients and families.

How will AI change communication without making it feel automated or impersonal?

AI should make communication feel more personal, not more automated. The biggest shift is that it can tailor messages to a patient’s real context, their care plan, condition, literacy level, preferred cadence, caregiver involvement and even where they are in the journey, whether that’s a new admission or ongoing care.

Used well, AI helps make communication shorter, clearer and more empathetic while still keeping the organization’s voice consistent. The goal is not to replace people. It’s to extend care teams by reducing repetitive work, improving the quality of each touchpoint and helping staff focus more attention on the patients and families who need a higher level of support.

That’s where the balance matters. If AI is just blasting generic reminders, it will feel robotic. But if it’s helping teams communicate in a way that is more timely, relevant and human, patients will feel the difference.

What problems are you solving that legacy communication tools do not address?

What we’re solving is continuous, compassionate communication that supports better care at home without adding more operational burden to agencies. What we’re solving with our nanaCONNECT platform is continuous, compassionate communication that supports better care at home without adding more operational burden to agencies.

That’s where legacy communication tools often fall short. A lot of them are built to send messages at volume, but not to measure whether those messages are being understood, acted on or leading to better outcomes. In home care and hospice, communication gaps show up in very real ways, missed visits, medication confusion, caregiver burnout and avoidable escalations or readmissions.

Organizations need more than message delivery. They need visibility into what’s working by cohort, branch and program, along with the ability to tailor communication using patient-appropriate language, actionable resources and feedback loops that show where engagement is strong and where it is breaking down. AI helps by reducing repetitive work, like drafting message variations, adjusting reading level, recommending resources and improving timing based on prior engagement. That makes communication more effective without making it more burdensome for staff.

How will communication platforms evolve from reminders to care guidance?

Reminders are table stakes. The next step is care guidance, a more structured series of interactions that helps patients and caregivers understand what to do, when to do it and why it matters.

In home-based care, that might mean symptom check-ins, educational touchpoints, what-to-expect guidance and simple ways to escalate to a human when needed. The goal is not just to remind someone of an appointment or task. It’s to support them through the care journey in a way that feels useful and easy to act on.

AI can help by recommending the next best message and tailoring communication based on care stage, condition, support network and preferences. For an older adult, that might mean simpler language, fewer links or more predictable timing. For a caregiver, it might mean symptom resources, respite information or guidance on what comes next.

The agency still stays in control. What the platform does is enable more precise communication and better measurement, so organizations can see whether patients are confirming, clicking, responding or asking for help, then adjust the messaging accordingly. That’s how communication evolves from reminders into real support.

What are the biggest risks of AI-driven messaging in health care, and how do you mitigate them?

The biggest risks are very real: incorrect guidance, the wrong tone, privacy exposure and overmessaging. In health care, those are not edge concerns. They’re practical risks that have to be managed from the start, especially in environments like home care and hospice where communication is personal and trust matters.

That’s why mitigation has to begin with strong guardrails. For us, that means approved content, customer controls, audit trails and no surprise automation. AI should help with drafting, personalization and recommendations, but it should never be inventing clinical instruction or operating without oversight.

We also believe AI needs to be designed with humility. If a patient seems confused, distressed or at risk, the system should make it easy to route that interaction to a human. The goal is not automation for its own sake. It’s making communication clearer, more relevant and more supportive while keeping people in control. In the end, the real success metric is whether patients and caregivers feel informed, supported and able to take the next step.

Zooming out, what do you think will separate the organizations that thrive in 2026 from those that struggle to adapt?

The organizations that thrive in 2026 will stand out in three areas: accessibility, accountability and adaptability.

Accessibility means removing friction. That includes using channels patients and caregivers will actually use, like SMS, and designing communication in a way that works for older adults. Accountability means having clear measurement, strong governance and safe controls around AI. Adaptability means learning what works for different patient groups and adjusting as needs change over time.

There’s also an ethical layer to all of this. Communication has to be understandable, optional and designed to reduce burden, not add to it. In home-based care, a lot of clinical risk happens between visits, not during them. The next generation of platforms needs to support patients and caregivers during that in-between time, not just document what happened after the fact. The future belongs to organizations that can make communication more scalable while still making it feel personal.

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Maxwell TEC enables care at home through technology and strategic solutions, blending decades of clinical expertise with innovative approaches designed to empower people and processes. With a suite of tech-enabled products, data-driven solutions, and consulting services, Maxwell TEC equips care providers with the tools and strategies necessary for success in the digital era.

To learn more, visit https://maxwelltec.com/products

The Voices Series is a sponsored content program featuring leading executives discussing trends, topics and more shaping their industry in a question-and-answer format. For more information on Voices, please contact sales@wtwhmedia.com.

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