EHR Vendor Reinvents Long-Term Care Software with User-Backed Design


News Image

“The long-term care software companies weren’t having one-to-one conversations with nurses on the floor as far as we could tell,” said Experience Care’s CEO Jason Long.

On July 20, 2021, Experience Care released an innovative point of care system that was developed, in part, by its customers. So far, the support for the module has been overwhelming.

Customers in long-term care are frustrated with the disconnect between product and user input. “The long-term care software companies weren’t having one-to-one conversations with nurses on the floor as far as we could tell,” said CEO Jason Long. This is supported by a 2015 study of 456 EHR survey responses that found that EHR vendors underestimated the importance of involving nursing staff in the organization of workflows.

So Long decided to hold two user groups calls and four product-specific meetings per month with floor nurses, CNAs, and other users to improve the workflow of Experience Care’s point of care. Long and other leaders at the company sat in, listened, and engaged with the conversations. “From these user meetings, we developed a new Point of Care module designed to meet the needs of workers on the floor while increasing efficiency,” he said.

Customers were more than pleased to find their suggestions put into action. “If there’s something we want the software to do, they usually figure out a way to make that happen,” said Ayisha Bradley, the QA informatics technician at Care Centers in Johnson City, Tennessee. “I asked if it was possible to make splinting and braces separate categories, and by the time of our next user group meeting that next week, they did it.”

The usability of existing features was improved in accordance with the feedback received. It is now easier to move from resident to resident on a specific topic page and view mood observation either by resident name or date. One of the new features added in this process is an electronic Kardex that notifies nurses with pop-ups about the most pressing activities of daily living (ADLs), like fluid restrictions and fall interventions.

If successful, the method of relying upon user feedback may just be the future of long-term care software. A 2016 study of health information technology (HIT) found that user and stakeholder perspectives produced wraparound care coordination specific to youth with complex needs. This suggests that nursing homes will see better outcomes on account of Experience Care’s new approach to updating long-term care software.

If you would like to give Experience Care’s (http://www.experience.care) Point of Care module a test drive, you can book a demo here.

About Experience Care LLC: Founded in 1969, Experience Care LLC provides electronic health records, revenue cycle management, and financial systems to skilled nursing facilities, assisted living, continuing care retirement communities, long-term acute care, and other long-term care organizations in the U.S. Experience Care’s mission is to make every long-term care organization a fulfilling place to live and work by helping maximize financial success and compliance to achieve the best teams, care, and outcomes.

Share article on social media or email:

Leave a Reply