Argentum Technology Survey Identifies Top Trends, Barriers In Senior Living 

As senior living presses forward with new technology enhancements and investments, there are still a variety of challenges that need to be overcome before the industry can keep up with other health care entities.

That’s according to the findings of the latest “State of Technology Adoption” survey from Argentum and A Place for Mom, which gathered insights from over 1,000 senior living operators, executives and tech leaders, to “uncover technology trends and barriers shaping the future of senior care.”

The main trends in technology adoption revolve around interoperability challenges, funding limitations, data quality and standardization, and the value of collaboration between operators and vendors, Stephanie Robert, vice president of marketing, content and member services at Argentum, said in a press release.

Among the primary findings from the survey, the top two core challenges facing the industry are interoperability between software tools and access to data sets and compatibility with existing infrastructure, with 77% and 74% of respondents citing as such respectively.

“Senior living executives voiced frustration in the survey over these limitations and their effects on affordability, given the speed at which technology solutions can become obsolete,” the report states. “This is especially a concern given the relatively short time that senior living has been a priority for technology and software vendors.”

Similar results are also shown to have an impact on achieving comprehensive resident health management, with 62% of the respondents identifying a lack of interoperability and data sharing between health care systems and providers as the top challenge, and 42% indicating limited integration capabilities. However, a notable 42% also cited limited resources and funding to implement initiatives as being a top challenge.

While these challenges remain the top three for comprehensive resident health management, the amount of resources compared to 2023 are increasing while limited integration continues to rise. At the time, 55% of respondents noted limited resources as a key challenge, while 32% cited limited integration with health care systems and resident technology solutions as a significant one.

With the most recent survey, though, 48% of respondents said they were in the process of creating a comprehensive data sets to allow stakeholders to “monitor resident health and wellness outcomes” within the next 18 months or less, while only 19% had not yet considered the practice. Only 7% indicated they already had something implemented and in place. Meanwhile, 58% indicated they were in the process of collecting health and wellness data in “an accessible format” within the next 18 months, while 10% already had one implemented. Only 13% noted they hadn’t considered beginning the process.

“Senior living operators have a high comfort level with data-driven decision making, but the lack of interoperability and low uptake of technology solutions put the most sophisticated forms of data analysis out of reach for many,” the survey states.

Respondents were also asked what they saw as the biggest barriers to new technology adoption. Among the top responses were lack of demonstrable return on investment for investments at 74%, lack of funding at 63% and resistance to change from staff at 48%. Lack of funding was noted to have shown the greatest increase from 2023, where 41% of respondents had indicated it as a barrier.

Of the new technologies being emphasized for implementation is AI. Predictive analytics topped the list of ways in which AI was being deployed, with 70% of the respondents citing it as a common means. Meanwhile, 50% said they were using AI for staff efficiency in such areas as sales, marketing, operations and content creation, and an equal number said they were using chatbots for resident interaction. Respondents who were using AI, however, noted impacts on quality of care were somewhat limited, with 36% indicating AI use had only had a minor impact, 32% stating a moderate impact, and 32% stated it has had no impact.

“As caregivers and seniors change their expectations for how they interact with businesses, it is important for the senior living industry to continue to evolve to meet those expectations,” Suzy Julius, chief product and technology officer of A Place for Mom, told Senior Housing News. 

Moving forward, respondents largely indicated they are supportive of collaborating or “co-innovating” with technology vendors, such as through task forces or piloting programs. Only 16% indicated they weren’t willing to collaborate.

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