In 2020, the number of senior living providers investing in video conferencing quadrupled from the amount seen two years before. In addition, organizations investing in telehealth and telemedicine technologies doubled since 2018. These key findings came from the Ziegler CFO Hotline^SM survey of technology spending among senior living organizations, conducted in partnership with LeadingAge CAST.

Results from this biennial survey included responses from approximately 150 participants. While the survey was initially sent to chief financial officers and finance contacts, a number of chief technology/information officers completed it. About six out of 10 respondents were single-site organizations, and the remaining four out of 10 represented multi-site provider organizations.

This year’s survey included new questions in four areas: infection control systems, staff and resident screening technologies, technical support for residents, and data analytics tools.

Key Findings

Results reflected organizations’ needs during the pandemic. Three-fourths of senior living and care providers invested in video conferencing capabilities for residents last year. In addition to explosive growth in video conference capabilities and telehealth/telemedicine technologies, resident access to the internet and social networking sites saw a 33% increase in popularity in terms of investments during 2020.

The increased investments in technology make sense given the changing needs brought forth by the COVD-19 pandemic, Ziegler Director of Senior Living Research Lisa McCracken said in a recent McKnight’s Senior Living article.

Interestingly, McCracken noted, although these obvious technologies advanced significantly from two years ago, many of the other technology solutions, including electronic health record systems, held steady or declined in terms of the number of providers spending dollars in that particular category.

“This suggests a re-prioritization of where the technology dollars were being spent,” McCracken told McKnight’s Senior Living.

“Understandably, more providers invested in video conferencing, access to the internet and social networking sites, and telehealth compared to 2018, and prioritized spending on infection control technologies in response to COVID-19,” said Majd Alwan, CAST executive director. “But interestingly, the overall technology spending has slightly decreased as a percentage of the organizations’ overall budget, as well as the budget dedicated to the building/campus/community, compared to 2018, indicating a shift in their technology spending priorities,” he added.  

Top Five in 2020:

Senior living providers invested most in these five technologies in 2020:

• Video Conferencing Capabilities (SKYPE, etc.) for Residents/Clients (75%)
• ICT Infrastructure (high-speed internet connectivity, wired/wireless) (71%)
• Resident/Client Access to the Internet and Social Networking Sites (57%)
• Infection Control Systems (including Air Purification, Disinfection, and Hand Hygiene Monitoring Technologies) (45%)
• Access Control/Wander Management Systems (42%)

Top Five in 2018:

• Electronic Health/Medical Records (53%)
• Workforce/Staffing Scheduling Systems (48%)
• Resident/Client Access to the Internet and Social Networking Sites (43%)
• Electronic Point of Care/Point of Service Documentation (42%)
• For comparison, the ICT Infrastructure (high-speed internet connectivity, wired/wireless) (74%)

In 2020, organizations were least likely to have invested in medication management technologies (11%), automatic fall detectors (8%), and shared care planning tools (6%).

Future Spending

In the next 12 months, organizations expect to spend in these areas:

• ICT Infrastructure – 48%
• Electronic Point of Care/Service Documentation – 36%
• Access to Internet and Social Networking Sites – 34%
• Workforce/Staffing Scheduling Systems – 32%
• Electronic Medical/Health Record Systems – 32%

 In general, providers are budgeting about 3% for technology in their total operating budgets, with multi-sites budgeting a higher percentage than single-site providers.

Technological investments in bricks and mortar assets (buildings, etc.) moved little from 2018. The average percentage of total capital budget devoted to campus/building/facilities was 11.1% in 2020 (12% in 2018). The percentage of total operating budget devoted to bricks and mortar assets was 4.2% in 2020 (4.5% in 2018).

See the full survey results.