2014 Buyers Guide reader survey: Technology

Through Long-Term Living’s annual readership survey, our professional readers tell us how they’ve improved care delivery, what types of resident services they have added and how the latest technology is being used. The survey is open to all readers, including owners, executives, administrators, nursing directors and caregivers at nursing homes, assisted living and continuing care retirement communities, and independent living and post-acute care sites.

This year’s respondent pool is evenly split between for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, and most fall into the 50–199 bed size range. Half of the respondents come from independent facilities, whereas another 31 percent are chain-based facilities.

TECHNOLOGY SHIFTS TO WORK PROCESSES

The number of sites adopting electronic health records continues to grow, and despite trends toward outsourcing information technology (IT) functions, 20.6 percent of responding sites employ one to two full-time IT personnel. Among the top technologies in place, financial software, safety technology and clincial software hold the top three slots—as in 2013. This year, however, marketing software, materials management technology and staff management software have soared up the chart, hinting toward greater investments in efficient workflow and processes.

The wireless movement truly matured this year, with nearly 70 percent of respondents now reporting the availability of wireless Internet access on all parts of their campuses, compared with 50 percent in 2013. Only 7 percent say they have no wireless Internet access at all.

Read the articles pertaining to the other sections of the reader survey:

2014 Buyers Guide reader survey: Facility operations

2014 Buyers Guide reader survey: Resident Care

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.