Technology is for many long term and post-acute care (LT/PAC) providers a driving force to improve quality, realize new efficiencies, and keep pace with the mandatory changes in how health care works. It also acts as an increasingly vital strategy to attract residents and to build a stable workforce.
Skilled nursing and assisted living operators tell Provider that while technology has been an influence for some time, the present and near term offer providers more critical choices than ever before. With the influx of new software for electronic health records (EHRs), case management, and administrative tools, there is ample opportunity for operators to build new systems for meeting financial and quality goals.
Is keeping up with this rapid change easy to do? Not by a long shot, sources say. Tight margins, limited capital resources, and intense competition in a consolidating business are roadblocks, especially for smaller providers.
Still, the stakeholders interviewed for this article say the stakes are high, and both large and small providers need to take action to at least be in step with the technology shifts, or eventually they will not have a business to run.
What follows is a snapshot covering how various tools are being used by providers to grow facility-based care, with quality and efficiency as top priorities.
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