Almost 9 in 10 (86%) senior living and care organizations are using technology to improve efficiencies in human resources, according to the latest results of the Executive Survey by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care, released Friday.

In this Wave 50 survey, respondents were asked in what areas their organization is using technology to maximize efficiencies in the workforce. Nearly 9 of 10 respondents (86%) reported using technology to improve efficiencies in human resources, followed by two-thirds (67%) who are deploying technology in operations; more than half are deploying technology in marketing (59%) and finance (55%). Only 1 out of every 6 respondents reported using technology to improve workforce efficiency in the area of supply chain, NIC noted.

The Wave 50 includes responses from Feb. 1 to Feb. 28 from owners and executives of 58 small, medium and large senior housing and skilled nursing operators across the nation. Two-thirds (64%) of respondents are exclusively for-profit providers, one-third (31%) operate not-for-profit long-term care properties and 5% operate both. Three-quarters (74%) of the organizations operate senior living properties, 21% operate nursing facilities and 28% operate continuing care retirement communities.

Increased use of technology means a decreased use of agency staff for many, according to the survey. Two-thirds (67%) of respondents indicated that they expect to use less agency staff in 2023 when compared with 2022. Almost one-third (28%) anticipate using the same amount of agency staff, and only 5% expect to require more agency use than last year. 

“Technology applications in the operations area include voice-enabled rooms, electronic medical records, and medication distribution,” wrote Ryan Brooks, senior principal at NIC.

“Applications within the marketing area include virtual tours and customer relationship management while applications within the finance area include accounting and procurement practices.”

For the first time, the Executive Survey included a question about what areas have been affected by the rising interest rate environment. 

“Across all care segments, just under one in ten operators (8%) indicate that their abilities to purchase, sell and recapitalize properties have all been impacted by the rising interest rate environment,” Brooks wrote.

Only one in five (19%) of the respondents said they have formal partnerships with healthcare risk-sharing entities, such as accountable care organizations or Medicare Advantage plans. Of the majority that do not have formal relationships in place, 26% of the respondents indicated that their organization is in active discussions to establish these types of partnerships.