The EHR Upgrade Guide for Leaders in Senior Living
You may be surprised to learn just how detrimental outdated software systems can be for your residents, your staff, and the overall health of your business.
The following scenarios are strong indicators that you’re ready for a modern senior living EHR.
Inaccessible business intelligence
Outdated software typically traps operations data at the building or community level and prevents you from accessing a global view of your portfolio. Without operational insights, it’s impossible to position your business for growth, or correct negative patterns in a timely way. Modern EHR platforms aggregate critical data – such as fall and incident trends, average length of stays, and care revenue – so that you’re equipped with all the right information to make strategic decisions as an operator.
Infrequent assessments and care revenue gaps
Your software should automatically prompt staff to regularly assess residents and update care plans as needed — and immediately translate care updates to billing. Regular assessments are important for care, staying compliant, and ensuring you are capturing revenue for care services delivered. Modern platforms make it easy to regularly assess residents, communicate changes in care needs to families, and ultimately capture care revenue.
Incomplete resident data
Incomplete resident data doesn’t just pose a threat to your resident experience or your compliance — it can be a major indicator that your software is outdated:
Incomplete data can mean that your current system doesn’t alert staff to data omissions. It’s also possible your system is not automatically updating data across different parts of your platform. For example, data provided during a resident’s move-in should instantly stream to other parts of your platform, so that your staff isn’t required to input the same information repeatedly.
Incomplete data can mean that your staff is hesitant to use your current software. Any time staff members are not using an EHR as intended, it’s worth exploring whether your current software is adding friction to their workflows instead of simplifying them.
Staff dissatisfaction and turnover
As users of smart devices in their daily lives, your staff knows that modern technology should make tasks easier, not harder. Legacy EHR systems notoriously frustrate staff because of cumbersome user interfaces, data re-entry needs, and time-consuming configurations that add complexity to their already-demanding daily workflows. With staff satisfaction challenges already plaguing many operators, staff turnover risk is exacerbated when outdated software is imposed on teams. Modern platforms designed specifically for senior living workflows have a direct and positive impact on staff satisfaction, morale, and retention.
Compliance challenges
If maintaining compliance is a resource-intensive process for your community, your current software is not shouldering enough of the burden. A key benefit of modern EHR platforms is their ability to simplify and centralize your compliance activities in a single environment. Too often operators are forced to manage compliance by maintaining binders of paperwork and chasing down missing documents, rendering them susceptible to missed deadlines and unnecessary citations. Modern platforms can automate many compliance activities and meaningfully reduce your administrative overhead. From digitizing paperwork to tracking documentation for every resident to alerting you to upcoming deadlines, modern platforms position you to stay on top of compliance and remain prepared for regulatory audits.
Slow resident move-ins
Another sign of outdated EHR software is a tedious move-in process that includes endless paperwork and administrative overhead. Move-in experiences like these consume valuable time and resources, and don’t make a great first impression with families. Modern platforms digitize move-ins, making a sometimes stressful process easier for new residents and their families. Digital move-ins also free up time for staff to focus on building critical relationships with residents and family members. Another benefit? Faster move-ins improve your occupancy rate.
Long implementation timelines
An EHR that takes months to implement, configure, and learn is a red flag that indicates you may be dealing with antiquated technology. Modern EHR platforms should take no more than a few weeks to implement, and should require minimal staff training.
Outdated systems are more than a nuisance — they are a true business liability that negatively impacts everyone from frontline caregivers to administrators to the C-Suite.
It’s worth reviewing the scenarios detailed above with different members of your staff to see which resonate. Keep in mind that shortcomings associated with outdated software can be normalized over time, when in fact, there are modern solutions available that are more performant, easier to use, and more flexible.
August Health is designed specifically to streamline senior living workflows, arming today’s operators with essential tools that enable better resident care, happier staff members, and thriving businesses. Learn more about how operators benefit from August Health in our Customer Impact Report.
August Health is a modern EHR platform for senior living operators that helps communities save time, improve care, maintain compliance, and increase care revenue. Designed with senior living experts and built by world-class engineers, the software platform is loved by communities for its easy-to-use design. The platform simplifies everyday senior living workflows from move-ins to assessments to compliance, while also providing valuable business analytics to C-Suite leadership. Hundreds of leading communities rely on August Health to upgrade their operations and deliver exceptional care.
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