The Top 5 Unexpected Benefits of Digital Entry Management

Entry management is an essential and daily element of senior care facility operations. While entry management began with paper-based systems out of necessity, digital entry management is transforming the process. Senior care organizations that transition to a digital entry management system also enjoy many benefits that impact not only staff, but also residents and visitors.

The Unexpected Benefits of Digital Entry Management

Digital entry management is about more than convenience and time-saving perks. Some common benefits include speeding up the entry management process, making for more accurate recordkeeping, and increasing staff productivity. But five key lesser-known benefits are highly valuable to senior care organizations, too.

1. Improved Security and Accountability

Digital entry management systems can transform and enhance senior care operations in multiple ways. Charles Mann, founder of Accushield, explains that using a digital management system can have widespread effects on a senior care community, starting with its security. “With our system, you can print badges and will know that someone is signed in because they have a badge on.” Name badges become an extra layer of security, verifying that all visitors, staff, and caregivers inside are approved to be in the building and have signed in.

Charles Mann, founder of Accushield

Mann notes that the system and its use of badges creates accountability, particularly when it comes to third-party care providers and vendors who are providing a service to the community. “There’s a legal component, as you can create a waiver or agreement or any other legal agreement that vendors need to sign at the kiosk. You will know that vendors have signed the waiver if they are able to print a badge.”

With Accushield, facilities can create text alerts if someone who is banned from the property enters the building. Such an ability means that the facility is better prepared to handle a potential emergency, and security staff can quickly take appropriate action.

Accushield can even photograph every person who signs into the building for security purposes. “Often, we have people who will go back in time to see who signed in at a particular time,” says Mann.

By demonstrating that the senior care community recognizes the importance of safety and security, the management system becomes part of the community’s marketing. “You have happier visitors because they see the senior care community showing the value of a more secure space,” Mann explains.

2. Increased Resident Privacy

A digital system can also increase resident privacy. Visitors who use a paper sign-in book sometimes leave the name of the resident who they are visiting. “Some people have taken photos of the sign-in book with their phones so they know which residents are in the building,” explains Mann.

3. Streamlined Approach to Health Screening

One of the major benefits of digital entry management, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, is its ability to streamline health screening. The Accushield kiosk can take and record temperatures, ask COVID-19 screening questions, and more. “The number one indicator of infection is an elevated temperature,” explains Mann. “Because of the vulnerable population in senior living and skilled nursing, it’s important to know if someone is not feeling well and has a temperature.”

While screening is essential during the pandemic, senior care organizations may continue to implement health screening procedures well beyond the pandemic. “The pandemic made health screening okay,” says Mann. “It made screening a new normal, and it’s likely that that will continue.”

4. Enhanced Communication

Digital entry management systems also facilitate enhanced communication. Using the technology, facilities can send mass text messages to multiple audiences, including staff members, visitors, third-party healthcare providers, and residents. Those text alerts can be valuable security measures, but they can also be used to share general announcements.

Accushield also allows facilities to share upcoming events with all visitors, right at the kiosk. It can be a valuable reminder and can raise visitor awareness of the events the facility is planning.

5. Simplified Reputation Management

Accushield’s Reputation Accelerator makes it easy for visitors to leave Google reviews, bolstering the senior care organization’s online reputation. “The paper-based model doesn’t enable a community to very easily send visitors to leave a Google review,” explains Mann. “Accushield provides a simplistic, automated way to receive positive feedback via Google reviews or any other survey software.”

Since Accushield allows facilities to also survey visitors, they can quickly gather information about the visitor’s experience on any given day. That prompt feedback allows facilities to quickly respond, take any needed actions, and follow up with visitors.

Making the Change to a Digital Entry Management System

While digital entry management systems offer many more benefits than paper-based systems, many senior care communities haven’t yet made the switch. “I think change is hard, especially in senior living,” says Mann. “Implementation can be scary or can hinder a community.”

Once communities try the technology, though, Mann finds that most of them embrace it. “We offer a free 30-day pilot,” he says. “Usually, after they have the chance to use it, it’s very unlikely that the pilot doesn’t move forward because of the benefits the community experiences.”

To learn more about Accushield and the benefits it can bring to your senior care community, request a demo today.

Paige Cerulli

Paige Cerulli is a contributing writer to i Advance Senior Care.