The verdict in three sentences
For a group of 7 care homes in Alsace with 560 residents, a family portal clearly cuts calls to reception and nurses, provided it covers three specific uses: booking a visit, receiving updates with consented photos, and viewing and paying accommodation invoices of EUR 2,400 to 3,600 a month. As soon as it touches health information, the portal must run on certified health data hosting (HDS in France), which shapes the architecture from day one. A custom build in 3 to 5 months makes sense when existing care software offers no satisfactory family module, or only as an expensive and rigid add-on.
The calls the portal should make disappear
The operations director starts by measuring. In an 80-bed home, reception and the care team typically receive 25 to 40 family calls a day. Many are about topics that require no medical expertise.
| Reason for calling | Share of calls (ballpark) | Portal answer |
|---|---|---|
| Booking or changing a visit | 30% | Online slot booking per resident and per lounge |
| General news about the resident | 25% | Weekly journal with consented photos |
| Questions about the accommodation invoice | 15% | Viewable invoices, itemised services, online payment |
| Activities and outings | 10% | Activity calendar and sign-ups |
| Laundry, personal items, hairdresser | 10% | Tracked service requests |
| Medical questions | 10% | Stays on the phone with the coordinating nurse |
If the portal absorbs half of the 90% non-medical calls, an 80-bed home receiving 30 calls a day avoids about 13 a day. Across 7 homes at 5 minutes per call, that is more than 2,600 hours a year given back to staff.
Health data hosting, consent, access rights: the 2026 framework
A family portal handles personal data and, depending on scope, health data. The boundary matters. A visit schedule or an accommodation invoice is not health data, but a sentence like 'Mrs L. has recovered well after her fall' is. As soon as such content can appear, hosting must be health-data certified.
| Requirement | Content concerned | Implementation in the portal |
|---|---|---|
| Certified health data hosting | Any health data, including in messages | HDS-certified host, encryption at rest and in transit |
| Image rights consent | Weekly journal photos | Consent per resident or legal representative, revocable |
| Authorised relatives | Access to the resident's account | Invitation by the home, 1 to 5 relatives, differentiated rights |
| Authentication | Family login | Password plus SMS or app code |
| Logging | Viewing and downloading | Logs kept and available to the DPO |
| Data protection impact assessment | Large-scale processing of vulnerable people | Carried out with your DPO before go-live |
To limit scope, many groups keep medical information in the care software and publish in the portal only non-medical updates approved by a manager. That does not remove the need for certified hosting if free-text messages could carry sensitive content, but it greatly simplifies governance.
Market software or custom portal
Care software vendors and a few specialised family apps offer ready-made modules, usually priced per bed or per home. A custom build makes sense when the group wants one experience across all 7 homes, connected to its billing and its own visiting rules.
| Criterion | Market family app | Kolonell custom portal |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | EUR 500 to 3,000 setup per home | 2,500,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (EUR 3,810 to 22,870+) depending on complexity |
| Recurring cost | EUR 1 to 3 per bed per month, 2026 ballpark | Maintenance 35,000 / 75,000 / 120,000 FCFA a month (EUR 53 / 114 / 183), certified hosting on quotation |
| Visit booking per lounge | Often basic | Rules per home, capacity per lounge |
| Billing and online payment | Rarely integrated | Connected to your billing software, card or direct debit |
| Group branding | Vendor logo visible | Portal under your name |
| Timeline | 2 to 6 weeks | 3 to 5 months |
Mini case study
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Isabelle is operations director of a group of 7 care homes around Strasbourg with 560 residents. The 2,600 hours of avoided calls, valued at EUR 28 per loaded hour for a receptionist or care assistant, amount to about EUR 72,800 a year of freed time.
A market family app at EUR 2 per bed per month would cost EUR 13,440 a year, so EUR 40,320 over three years, without billing integration. A high-complexity custom portal with booking, consented photo journal, invoices and payment falls between 7,000,000 and 15,000,000 FCFA (EUR 10,670 to 22,870), plus Premium maintenance at 120,000 FCFA a month (EUR 183), about EUR 6,600 over three years. Total in the range of EUR 17,300 to 29,500 excluding certified hosting, with online payment as a bonus to reduce late payment on invoices of EUR 2,400 to 3,600 a month.
FAQ
Must the portal use certified health data hosting?
Yes, as soon as health data can pass through it, including in free-text messaging. If the portal is strictly limited to visits, invoices and approved non-medical updates, your DPO may conclude otherwise, but we recommend certified hosting as a precaution.
How is photo consent handled?
Consent is collected per resident, from them or their legal representative, and can be withdrawn at any time from the portal. A group photo is published only if every visible resident has consented.
Will older relatives manage to use the portal?
Large type, three main buttons and SMS code login are enough in most cases. Plan one demo session per home and a help line for the first two months.
Can the portal connect to our care software?
For schedules and the resident list, yes, by export or API depending on the vendor. Care data itself usually stays in the care software, which simplifies compliance.
What timeline for all 7 homes?
3 to 5 months, including a 4-week pilot in one home. The rest then rolls out at 1 to 2 homes a week.
Let's scope your project. Tell us about your homes, care software and billing tool, and we will propose a scope compliant with health data hosting and GDPR rules, a 3 to 5 month plan and a comparison with market apps. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
