It is estimated that by the year 2020, there will be nearly 72 million seniors over the age of 65 that make up the U.S. population. Although more seniors are participating in the workforce, there is still a rising number admitted into care facilities. Nursing homes and long term care facilities have special needs in managing patient information.

These tools have to schedule and register patients, as well as manage the nursing staff. Caring for nursing home residents includes an efficient working knowledge of an effective software system. It can be an overwhelming challenge to manage patient care effectively.

Well deployed software for nursing homes should be safe and efficient with the software being able to carry out some of the following points:

– Automate inpatient and outpatient care
– Support electronic payer contracts
– Automate documentation review
– Ensure effective transitions of care (doctor to doctor, facility to facility)
– Simplify health management of patients
– Integrate audits, appeals, and denials
– Provide support for executive level decisions
– Billing

Software for nursing homes should be computerized for every process in every department, as well as integrate clinical records and provide a billing system. The features should include charting capabilities, flow sheets, barcoding, dietary needs for patients, scheduling, compliance, and more.

Facility management can be a solution to properly maintain equipment and identify which equipment is costing too much to operate. It’s also an efficient resource to forecast requirements for parts. Warranty tracking keeps nursing homes from overpaying items.

Demand work requests would be immediately visible and problems would be reduced – such as plumbing or lighting to protect patients and staff, the faster problems are fixed and the less potential for damage. Facility management and software combined can automate scheduling, streamline email, plan, and provide assessment tools.

Consider when people are visiting nursing homes to care for their loved ones. They are looking things that also affect facility management. Facilities management can assist with cleanliness and the availability of food. Some other noted things are:

– Staff turnover and the staff level on any given day
– If the facility is organized, balanced, and not in a rush
– If they have proper management of their loved ones’ health concerns
– How the medications arranged, ordered, and dispensed
– Emergencies and how they are handled
– Genuine interest in their loved ones needs
– If the residents are alert of overly medicated
– If the residents are happy and seem to be cared for properly
– Activities and the overall experience

Complimenting an existing operation, the goal of an effective software solution for nursing homes is to be paperless and provide a quality level of administration for patients without excessive costs. This allows for insight into the unique needs of patients, as well as accurately determining reimbursements and billing amounts. Ultimately, this increases the facility’s profitability. With administering medications, there would be no worry of mistakes or exposing the facility to legal trouble.