Seven out of 10 people will require assisted living care at some point in their life.
Recent data shows more than 810,000 people live in senior care and assisted living communities. In the coming years, that figure will rise, as the population of adults older than 85 is expected to double by 2036 — and triple by 2046.
With an average cost of $4,500 per month, assisted living is currently one of the most affordable options for seniors, providing them with care, comfort, and community in their twilight years.
The implications of these trends on the assisted living sector are profound. As communities look to grow, streamline their admin infrastructure, increase their resident population, and continue to provide the best care and service, the need for using software tailored to senior living communities becomes invaluable.
As technology infiltrates and improves so many facets in the field of aging services, adopting senior living software is rapidly changing from a trend to standard practice.
Senior and assisted living numbers are on the rise.
Why Use Software in Your Assisted Living Community?
Knowing the value of assisted living software comes from understanding the complete ecosystem that allows for the smooth operation of an assisted living community.
Resident care and comfort are always paramount, and high-functioning communities support their residents in every facet of life, including activities, clinical needs, medication management, safety protocols, and community engagement.
But there's a lot that goes into making that possible. For mission-driven communities to function at their highest level, we need to consider the needs of senior living operators, administrators, caregivers, sales professionals, and executives.
Comprehensive senior living software solutions like Eldermark's are designed to do just that.
By taking into consideration the full scope of operations, assisted living software is tailored to address the various needs of a senior living community, facilitating optimal care and service while also focusing on expansion and maximizing returns on investment.
Here are four key benefits of using senior living software in your community:
Improve Clinical Care Management
- Resident assessments, care plans, health records, medication reports, clinical forms, and service schedules are centralized in one web-based platform, making it easier for caregiving professionals, operators, and anyone with permission to access them on demand and take necessary action.
- Software solutions geared toward improving clinical care help save time, eliminate human error, and relieve staff of tedious and repetitive tasks, allowing them to provide fast and effective care.
Streamline Administrative Operations
- Streamlined, automated systems take care of administrative tasks related to billing, payments, ledger management, and charting.
- Automated administrative workflows also improve employee satisfaction, reduce employee turnover, and help senior living operators anticipate problems and act proactively before an issue arises.
Expand Occupancy and Increase ROI
- Aggregated data across community sites provide benchmarking, performance management, and optimization analytics.
- Comprehensive assisted living software solutions like Eldermark's create synergy across marketing, sales, clinical care, resident safety, and administration enterprises, enabling executives and operators to hit financial and occupancy targets consistently.
Ensure Regulatory Compliance
- Senior living software help staff remain compliant with state assessments and regulations, ensuring everyone is proactively ready for an audit at any time.
- Comprehensive software solutions also ensure that safety and regulatory compliance are met at every level, including internal processes and external regulations, protecting every facet of each community.
A comprehensive senior living software solution takes care of a community's every need.
Things to Evaluate When Selecting Senior Living Software
Not every senior care community is the same, so you should know what to look for when choosing assisted living software that meets your community's needs.
Here are the most important things to consider when selecting a comprehensive software solution:
1. Experience and Expertise
Choosing software solutions with a proven history of improving services, increasing occupancy, and optimizing revenue is key. But it's also important to understand that the assisted living sector differs from other healthcare facilities since these communities' clinical care and operational management come with unique challenges.
While some software options offer general solutions, the best ones are those tailored to the specifics of the assisted living ecosystem. Software systems like Eldermark — with three decades of experience and expertise in providing assisted living solutions — do precisely that.
2. Variety and Suitability
You want to make sure that a given software system is suitable for the size of your residence. Certain software might not efficiently handle a large community's many moving parts, while other options might not be adaptable to smaller operations.
Additionally, you want to check how comprehensive a particular software solution is. For example, cloud-based systems are more accessible. Also, the best systems focus on a spectrum of software solutions, including clinical management, administration, marketing, and analytics.
3. Resources and Support
In case of any unforeseen problems, and when it comes to training staff on new technology, it's essential to make sure your systems come with 24/7 support so there's always someone to provide staff and residents with solutions.
Another thing to look out for is support systems that offer continuing training and resources to keep staff regularly updated on best practices.
4. Pricing
Finally, software pricing will be a factor in any decision.
When determining a price that suits your budget, remember to factor in the revenue that comprehensive software providers can regenerate through reduced costs, streamlined workflows, and targeted marketing.
Types of Assisted Living Software
The purpose of an assisted living software solution is to create synergy between different parts of the operation. However, when broken down, there are four basic categories of assisted living software:
Point of Care
- Assisted living EHR (Electronic Health Records): Saves time, reduces costs, and eliminates human error by centralizing and streamlining clinical data
- Assisted living eMAR (Electronic Medication Administration Records): Ensures that the right resident receives the correct dose of their prescribed medication at the appropriate time
- Engagement platform: Prioritizes residents' mental, physical, and spiritual health
- Monitoring software: Provides alerts and notifications for staff regarding residents' regimen, tracks and responds to changes in resident condition in real time, allowing for early intervention and reducing transition events
- 24/7 support: Offers staff lessons, live training, and webinars, making their jobs easier and more enjoyable
Customer Relationship Management and Marketing
- Customer relationship management (CRM) software: Provides key insights into effectively managing the entire community by informing business decisions, addressing community challenges, and aligning technology with organizational goals
- Assisted living marketing software: Allows sales professionals to adhere to a standardized practice, capitalizing on opportunities and generating new revenue streams
Administration
- Assisted living operations software: Helps streamline clerical and admin duties to save time and emphasize providing the best care and service
- Assisted living accounting software: Creates a convenient, secure system for automated billing and payment processing, eliminating delays and safeguarding against human error
Best Senior Living Software in 2023
With all that in mind, let's take a look at the best senior living software options in 2023:
- Eldermark
With over 30 years of experience in the sector, Eldermark is the leading, most trusted senior living software provider. Suitable for small, medium, or large communities, Eldermark's software solutions are one of the most comprehensive options available to handle all the needs of a senior living or assisted living community.
Eldermark's expertise focuses exclusively on senior and assisted living, and their solutions have the added benefit of aggregating and analyzing data across the community spectrum. Through real-time reports, performance indicator analysis, and business intelligence, we provide actionable insights for improvements across various metrics.
Key features include:
- EHR software
- eMAR software
- CRM software
- WIDSOM2ACT real-time monitoring software
- Engage participation and activities platform
- Billing and payment software
- Marketing automation
- Business analytics
- Training and 24/7 support
Founded in 2004, ECP is another cloud-based EHR solution that tailors to independent and assisted living communities, memory care, and developmental disabilities. It's a relatively new, fast-growing company offering solutions for care communities.
Key features include:
- EHR software
- eMAR software
- CRM software
- Billing and payment software
MatrixCare is a long-standing company offering software solutions for a broader range of facilities, including senior living communities. Although its focus is spread across various sectors in healthcare, it offers full-spectrum EHR solutions for assisted living communities.
Key features include:
- EHR software
- eMAR software
- CRM software
- Billing and payment software
- Business analytics
- Training and marketing
Although not specifically tailored to senior and assisted living communities, HubSpot is one of the most popular general-purpose CRMs, is easy to use, and has powerful automation and intuitive marketing features.
- Sales CRM software
- Content management software
- Marketing automation software
- Operations software
- Customer relations software
Request a Free Demo With Eldermark to Get Started Today
The ultimate goal of an assisted living community is to adhere to professional, safe practices that prioritize the well-being of staff and residents while keeping your community financially thriving. Eldermark's comprehensive senior living software solutions provide the tools, resources, and support to make that a reality.
With three decades of experience in the assisted living sector, systems created by former senior living nurses and operators, and knowledge of all the ins and outs you're likely to face, we've designed the ultimate solution to meet and exceed all your expectations.
