The long-term care industry in 2026 faces mounting pressure from regulatory agencies, staffing shortages, and rising resident acuity. Nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) must deliver high-quality, person-centered care while navigating complex reimbursement models like PDPM and meeting stringent CMS quality reporting requirements. Purpose-built nursing home software and long-term care management platforms have become indispensable for operators seeking to streamline clinical workflows, ensure compliance, and improve resident outcomes.
This guide compares the leading LTPAC software solutions available in 2026, covering essential features from MDS/RAI assessments to family portals, so you can make an informed decision for your facility.
Quick Comparison: Top Nursing Home Software 2026
| Software | Best For | MDS/RAI | Care Planning | Family Portal | Pricing Model | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | PointClickCare | Large SNF chains | Yes | Yes | Yes | Per-bed/month | | MatrixCare | Multi-facility operators | Yes | Yes | Yes | Per-bed/month | | American HealthTech | Mid-size SNFs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Per-bed/month | | Netsmart myUnity | Behavioral + LTC | Yes | Yes | Yes | Per-bed/month | | Experience Care | Small-mid SNFs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Per-bed/month | | HospitalOS | Global / emerging markets | Configurable | Yes | Yes | One-time license |
The Long-Term Care Software Landscape in 2026
Market Drivers
The senior care software market continues to expand rapidly, driven by several critical factors:
- Aging population: Over 70 million Americans will be 65+ by 2030, with similar demographic shifts worldwide
- Staffing crisis: CNAs, LPNs, and RNs remain in critically short supply, making workflow automation essential
- Regulatory complexity: CMS updates to PDPM, quality measures, and staffing mandates demand sophisticated reporting tools
- Value-based care: Shift from fee-for-service to outcome-based reimbursement requires robust analytics
- Family expectations: Families demand transparency, real-time updates, and digital engagement tools
Types of Long-Term Care Facilities
Skilled nursing facilities need specialized software that differs significantly from acute-care hospital systems:
| Facility Type | Typical Stay | Key Software Needs | |---|---|---| | Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) | 20-100 days (post-acute) or years (long-term) | MDS, care plans, PDPM billing | | Assisted Living Facility (ALF) | Years | Service plans, activity tracking, state reporting | | Memory Care | Years | Wandering prevention, behavioral documentation | | Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) | Decades | Multi-level care transitions, wellness programs | | Home Health & Hospice | Varies | OASIS, visit scheduling, remote documentation |
Essential Features of Nursing Home Software
1. Resident Management and Admissions
A comprehensive resident management module is the foundation of any LTPAC platform:
- Pre-admission screening: Evaluate prospective residents for clinical appropriateness and payer verification
- Electronic admissions: Digital consent forms, demographic capture, insurance verification, and bed assignment
- Census management: Real-time bed board showing occupancy, availability, holds, and discharges
- Face sheet automation: Auto-generated resident summaries with diagnoses, allergies, contacts, and advance directives
- Transfer and discharge planning: Coordinate transitions to hospitals, home, or other facilities with complete documentation
- Readmission tracking: Monitor 30-day hospital readmission rates for quality reporting and PDPM optimization
2. MDS/RAI Assessment and Reporting
The Minimum Data Set (MDS) is the cornerstone of SNF clinical documentation and reimbursement:
MDS 3.0 Assessment Types:
- Admission assessments (5-day PPS, 14-day)
- Quarterly reviews
- Annual assessments
- Significant change in status assessments (SCSA)
- Discharge assessments
Software Capabilities:
- Auto-scheduling: Automatically generate MDS assessment schedules based on admission date, ARD windows, and regulatory deadlines
- Pre-population: Pull data from clinical documentation (vital signs, medications, diagnoses) to reduce redundant data entry
- Validation checks: Real-time error checking against CMS edit specifications before submission
- CAA triggers: Automatically identify Care Area Assessment triggers and link to care plan interventions
- PDPM classification: Calculate Patient-Driven Payment Model categories (PT, OT, SLP, nursing, NTA) for accurate reimbursement
- Electronic submission: Direct transmission to CMS QIES ASAP system via XML
3. Care Planning
Person-centered care planning is both a regulatory requirement and a clinical best practice:
- Individualized care plans: Create comprehensive, interdisciplinary care plans addressing each resident's unique needs
- Problem-goal-intervention framework: Standardized structure with customizable content
- Care conference scheduling: Coordinate quarterly care conferences with residents, families, and interdisciplinary team
- Progress tracking: Document progress toward goals with measurable outcome indicators
- Care plan updates: Trigger automatic reviews when MDS assessments identify new issues or significant changes
- Regulatory alignment: Map care plans to MDS CAA triggers, quality measures, and state survey requirements
4. Medication Management
Medication errors are a leading safety concern in long-term care settings:
- Electronic MAR (eMAR): Replace paper medication administration records with barcode-verified electronic documentation
- Pharmacy integration: Bidirectional interface with long-term care pharmacies (Omnicare, PharMerica, local pharmacies)
- Drug interaction checking: Real-time alerts for drug-drug, drug-allergy, and drug-diagnosis interactions
- Controlled substance tracking: DEA-compliant documentation for Schedule II-V medications with count reconciliation
- PRN effectiveness monitoring: Track as-needed medication usage and outcomes
- Psychotropic medication reduction: Monitor antipsychotic and anxiolytic usage for CMS quality measures and gradual dose reduction (GDR) protocols
- Medication pass optimization: Route-based scheduling to improve nursing efficiency during medication passes
5. Clinical Documentation
Beyond MDS assessments, comprehensive clinical documentation capabilities include:
- Nursing assessments: Admission, shift, weekly, and monthly nursing assessments with structured templates
- Physician orders: Electronic order entry, verbal order management, and automatic monthly recapitulation
- Progress notes: Narrative and structured documentation for nursing, therapy, social work, and dietary
- Wound management: Wound assessment tools with staging, measurement, photo documentation, and healing tracking
- Fall risk management: Standardized fall risk assessments, post-fall documentation, and root cause analysis
- Infection surveillance: Track infections, antibiotic usage, and report to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN)
- Pain management: Regular pain assessments using validated scales appropriate for cognitive levels
- Weight and nutrition tracking: Monitor weight trends, dietary intake, and nutritional status
6. Billing and Revenue Cycle
Long-term care billing is uniquely complex with multiple payer sources:
Medicare Part A (SNF Benefit):
- PDPM per-diem rates based on clinical classification
- 100-day benefit period management
- Therapy minute tracking (individual, group, concurrent)
- Variable Per Diem (VPD) adjustments
Medicaid:
- State-specific rate structures and case-mix systems
- Trust fund accounting for resident personal allowances
- Level-of-care documentation
- Spend-down tracking
Other Payers:
- Medicare Part B (physician services, outpatient therapy)
- Medicare Advantage plans
- Private insurance
- Private pay / out-of-pocket
- Veterans Affairs (VA)
Revenue Cycle Features:
- Automated charge capture from clinical documentation
- Claim scrubbing and submission
- Remittance posting and reconciliation
- Denial management and appeals tracking
- Accounts receivable aging and reporting
- Triple-check process automation (census, billing, clinical reconciliation)
7. Family Portal and Communication
Modern families expect digital engagement tools:
- Real-time updates: Push notifications for care events, appointments, and status changes
- Photo and activity sharing: Secure sharing of photos, activity participation, and daily life updates
- Secure messaging: HIPAA-compliant communication between families and care staff
- Care plan access: View current care plans, goals, and progress
- Visit scheduling: Schedule visits, especially important for facilities with visitor management protocols
- Billing transparency: View statements, balances, and payment options online
- Satisfaction surveys: Digital feedback collection and response tracking
8. Staffing and Workforce Management
Addressing the staffing crisis requires intelligent workforce tools:
- Scheduling: Shift scheduling with staffing ratio compliance (CMS mandated hours per resident day)
- Open shift management: Post open shifts, manage call-offs, and track overtime
- PPD calculation: Real-time nursing hours per resident day (HPRD) monitoring
- CMS staffing submission: Automated Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) data submission
- Credential tracking: License, certification, and training compliance management
- Agency staffing: Track and manage contract/agency staff usage and costs
Top Nursing Home Software Solutions in 2026
1. PointClickCare
Market Position: The dominant LTPAC platform serving over 27,000 facilities across North America.
Key Strengths:
- Comprehensive EHR with integrated MDS, care planning, and billing
- Robust interoperability with hospitals and health systems (Carequality network)
- Advanced analytics and predictive tools for readmission prevention
- Extensive marketplace of third-party integrations
- Strong regulatory compliance tools updated promptly with CMS changes
Considerations:
- Premium pricing may challenge smaller operators
- Implementation complexity for multi-facility rollouts
- Cloud-only; requires reliable internet connectivity
2. MatrixCare (ResMed)
Market Position: Leading platform for multi-facility operators with strong home health and hospice capabilities.
Key Strengths:
- Unified platform across SNF, ALF, home health, and hospice
- Advanced clinical decision support
- Care coordination tools for managing transitions between settings
- Strong referral management and CRM functionality
- Marketing and census management tools
Considerations:
- Best suited for larger organizations
- Multiple product lines can create complexity
- Integration between acquired products still evolving in some areas
3. American HealthTech (CPSI)
Market Position: Established LTPAC vendor with deep functionality for mid-size SNFs.
Key Strengths:
- Comprehensive clinical and financial suite
- Strong MDS and PDPM tools
- Integrated accounts receivable management
- Reliable platform with long track record
- Good customer support reputation
Considerations:
- User interface modernization ongoing
- May lack some newer engagement features
- Market share smaller than PointClickCare or MatrixCare
4. Netsmart myUnity
Market Position: Strong in behavioral health integration with long-term care capabilities.
Key Strengths:
- Unified platform spanning behavioral health and LTPAC
- Strong care coordination across settings
- Analytics and population health tools
- Social determinants of health (SDOH) documentation
- Good interoperability framework
Considerations:
- Behavioral health focus may not suit pure SNF operators
- Implementation timeline can be lengthy
- Pricing complexity for multi-module deployments
5. Experience Care (formerly SigmaCare)
Market Position: Growing mid-market platform with modern architecture and strong clinical tools.
Key Strengths:
- Modern, intuitive user interface
- Strong MDS workflow with excellent pre-population
- Configurable clinical documentation
- Good value for small-to-mid-size operators
- Responsive to customer enhancement requests
Considerations:
- Smaller market share limits peer networking opportunities
- Third-party integration ecosystem still growing
- May need supplemental systems for complex financial workflows
6. HospitalOS
Market Position: Versatile hospital and facility management platform ideal for global markets and emerging economies.
Key Strengths:
- One-time licensing model eliminates recurring per-bed fees
- Configurable resident management, care planning, and documentation modules
- Medication management with PharmaPos pharmacy integration
- Offline functionality for locations with unreliable internet
- Multi-language support for international deployments
- Scalable from single facilities to multi-site operations
- Affordable pricing suitable for facilities in developing countries
Ideal For:
- Nursing homes and elder care facilities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America
- Organizations seeking to avoid perpetual SaaS subscription costs
- Facilities needing offline-capable solutions
- Operators wanting an integrated hospital + long-term care platform
How to Choose the Right Nursing Home Software
Selecting the best skilled nursing facility software requires systematic evaluation:
Step 1: Define Your Requirements
- Facility type: SNF, ALF, memory care, CCRC, or multi-level?
- Size: Number of beds and facilities?
- Geography: Single state or multi-state operations?
- Current systems: What are you replacing, and what data must migrate?
- Budget: Total cost of ownership over 5 years, including implementation and training?
Step 2: Evaluate Core Functionality
| Requirement | Must-Have | Nice-to-Have | |---|---|---| | MDS/RAI with PDPM | Yes (SNFs) | N/A | | Care planning | Yes | Outcome analytics | | eMAR/medication management | Yes | Closed-loop with barcoding | | Billing (Medicare/Medicaid) | Yes | Multi-payer optimization | | Family portal | Yes | Photo/activity sharing | | Staffing/PBJ | Yes | Predictive scheduling | | Analytics | Yes | Predictive modeling | | Interoperability | Yes | FHIR/HL7 real-time |
Step 3: Assess Vendor Viability
- Financial stability: Can the vendor sustain ongoing R&D and support?
- Regulatory responsiveness: How quickly do they implement CMS updates?
- Customer references: Speak with facilities similar to yours
- Implementation track record: What is the typical go-live timeline?
- Support model: 24/7 support, dedicated account management?
Step 4: Plan for Implementation
- Data migration: Plan for converting historical resident data, clinical records, and financial data
- Training: Budget 4-8 weeks for comprehensive role-based training
- Parallel operation: Run old and new systems simultaneously for 2-4 weeks
- Post-go-live support: Ensure vendor provides on-site or remote assistance for 30-60 days
Key Trends Shaping Nursing Home Software in 2026
AI-Powered Clinical Decision Support
Artificial intelligence is transforming long-term care software with capabilities including:
- Fall prediction: Machine learning models analyzing gait, medication, and activity data to identify high-risk residents
- Readmission risk scoring: Predict which residents are most likely to return to the hospital within 30 days
- Staffing optimization: AI-driven scheduling that accounts for resident acuity, historical patterns, and regulatory minimums
- MDS coding assistance: Natural language processing to suggest accurate MDS responses from clinical documentation
Interoperability and Health Information Exchange
CMS mandates and industry initiatives are driving greater data sharing:
- ADT notifications: Real-time alerts when residents are admitted, discharged, or transferred from hospitals
- TEFCA participation: Trust Exchange Framework and Common Agreement enabling nationwide data exchange
- Medication reconciliation: Automated medication list updates during transitions of care
- Referral management: Digital referral workflows from hospitals to SNFs with clinical data sharing
Remote Patient Monitoring
Technology enabling proactive clinical intervention:
- Wearable devices: Track vital signs, activity levels, and sleep patterns continuously
- Smart room sensors: Detect falls, bed exits, and bathroom usage without wearables
- Telehealth integration: Virtual physician visits reducing unnecessary hospital transfers
- Family video visits: Integrated video calling for remote family engagement
Regulatory Changes
Software must adapt to evolving CMS requirements:
- Minimum staffing standards: CMS mandated minimum HPRD thresholds requiring real-time monitoring
- PDPM updates: Payment model refinements affecting clinical documentation and coding
- Electronic Visit Verification (EVV): Required for Medicaid-funded home and community-based services
- Quality measure updates: New measures added to the Five-Star Quality Rating System
Why Consider HospitalOS for Long-Term Care
HospitalOS offers a compelling alternative for nursing homes and long-term care facilities, particularly those seeking:
- Cost-effective licensing: A one-time license fee instead of perpetual per-bed monthly subscriptions that escalate over time
- Integrated pharmacy management: Seamless connection with PharmaPos for medication dispensing, inventory tracking, and controlled substance management
- Global adaptability: Multi-language, multi-currency support for facilities operating in diverse markets across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean
- Offline resilience: Continue documenting care and managing operations even when internet connectivity is unavailable
- Scalable architecture: Start with a single facility and expand to multi-site operations without per-facility licensing penalties
Whether you operate a small elder care home or a large skilled nursing facility chain, HospitalOS provides the clinical, operational, and financial tools you need at a fraction of the cost of traditional LTPAC platforms.
Contact us today to schedule a demo and see how HospitalOS can transform your long-term care operations.
