Demographic/census integration
As residents are added, updated, or deleted in your existing system, CareTracker ‘inherits’ those changes automatically. If a resident is at the hospital (or on leave for any reason), that resident won’t show on the kiosk so you can’t accidentally document on someone that isn’t in the building. The same holds true with discharges and room changes.

MDS integration
CareTracker stores the detailed nurse aide observations but it passes the summarized responses to your MDS. Because most MDS systems don’t have a place to store the detailed observations, using CareTracker in conjunction with your existing software gives you the ability to analyze detailed data instead of summarized date. See the advantages to this approach.

If your MDS software doesn’t accept MDS input from CareTracker, don’t be concerned. Many facilities find that CareTracker’s ability to provide the summarized information in a report is by far the key value of CareTracker. Simply entering a few summarized entries into the MDS is not seen as the major benefit by most users.

Non MDS information
Much of the information collected by CareTracker doesn’t need to make it to the MDS such as:

 • Vitals
 • Activities
 • Nursing Assistant Skin Checks
 • Use of assistive devices
 • Repositioning
 • Labs
 • Blood Glucose monitoring
 • Doctor Visits

For example, vitals are usually transcribed from a scrap of paper to the resident’s chart or the computer system. This process involves several entries in which errors and delays can take place.

With CareTracker, the vitals can be captured electronically from a variety of automated vitals machines and carried automatically into CareTracker. With an interface with the clinical system, the information is carried to your clinical system electronically as well. This reduces errors, delays, and effort.

All encompassing Systems

Some facilities are tempted to look for the ‘all encompassing’ software system that handles all aspects of their business. It is nearly impossible for one software company to have the expertise and resources to provide deep solutions for every aspect of long term care. Specialized systems like CareTracker can usually offer much better solutions in their respective area than a vendor attempting to cover all the areas. Through integration facilities can take advantage of the best of each ‘breed’ of software.