Episode 5: Revolutionizing Senior Care Through Data

Andie Cartwright

Hey everyone! Welcome back to the Better Living Through Data Podcast! I’m Andie Cartwright, joined by Anthony Pero—Anthony, how’s it going?

Anthony Pero

Hey Andie! Always excited to dig in—especially when we’re talking about a study that’s made some real waves in senior care circles lately.

Andie Cartwright

Yeah, for folks listening, today we’re diving into that new article in The American Journal of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy. They actually built this study using the PointClickCare’s Life Sciences dataset.

Anthony Pero

And for anyone who hasn’t heard our earlier episodes, this dataset is… well, it’s massive. We’re talking data that covers over 20 million patients and billions of vitals and medication observations. Not just snapshots, by the way. Longitudinal records, real-world care patterns, the whole shebang.

Andie Cartwright

There’s this level of detail that, I mean, in my whole career, I don’t think I’ve ever seen another dataset like it—daily records, socio-demographics, like, you can dig down to see what’s happening with vulnerable populations in real care environments.

Anthony Pero

Yeah, so behind the scenes, you can’t just hand over a giant pile of data and say, “good luck!” There’s a ton of collaboration to ensure that the data’s not just big, but representative. Questions like: “Hey, does this reflect the mix of conditions we’re seeing nationally?” or “Are there enough observations from specific geographic pockets?” It’s, uh—well, it’s almost like putting together a 5,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. And you need it to look right when you’re done. There are a lot of considerations: validating sources, making sure the right patient journeys are in the mix, and triple-checking everything for quality. I’ve gotta say, it’s rewarding when our data output leads to something as actionable as what we’re seeing in this new article.

Andie Cartwright

Yeah, and I mean, even from our last episode, we talked about how real-time and granular data is the only way you get these kinds of insights into those “invisible” patterns, right? I love that’s where we’re starting today.

Anthony Pero

Alright, so let’s get into those findings. The article pulled out some pretty eye-opening trends in how medications are prescribed—especially for older adults in long-term care. One thing that stood out for me was just the sheer variety in prescribing between regions and facilities. There’s no “one-size-fits-all”—some seniors have way more prescriptions than others, and patterns can be all over the place even just a couple counties apart.

Andie Cartwright

Yeah, and it’s not just location—it’s also differences based on things like gender, ethnicity, and even economic background. You can see these disparities that aren’t always obvious when you’re just looking at the surface-level stats. I’m always haunted by that finding from the study about certain medications being under- or over-prescribed just depending on where a resident happens to live, or which facility they’re in.

Anthony Pero

It’s tough. Because, you know, we want to celebrate the care being provided, but at the same time, it’s clear there’s significant room for improvement. I think what’s powerful is how this dataset lets us actually see those gaps and start addressing them, instead of guessing or going on intuition alone.

Andie Cartwright

Totally, you kind of had to see things from all angles if you wanted to design a great experience. It’s kind of similar in marketing. If you want your message to actually stick, or, you know, wake people up to a problem, you can’t just throw numbers at them. So with this, I’ve tried to really focus on the human stories behind the data, because nobody wants a chart about disparities—they want to know, “Could this be my mom? My dad? Me in 20 or 30 years?”

Anthony Pero

Yeah, and that’s a good point. It’s easy to get lost in stats, but these are real people at the other end of every datapoint.

Andie Cartwright

Exactly. And I think that’s what’s so powerful about how this information is coming out—these gaps aren’t just theoretical, they’re impacting everyday choices about care. It makes it all the more urgent for everyone in this space to pay attention.

Anthony Pero

So here’s where it gets exciting for me—these insights aren’t just academic. The article highlights real interventions that grew straight out of all that number crunching. There are medication optimization programs being piloted, facilities using risk profiles to flag residents more likely to have an adverse drug event, even new ways to guide clinicians on the fly when they’re making prescribing decisions.

Andie Cartwright

I love that. And there’s one case study that really stuck with me—this long-term care facility used the insights from PointClickCare Life Sciences' data to basically overhaul how they approached prescriptions. They found a chunk of their residents on multiple unnecessary meds, and after some targeted reviews, they managed to reduce meds for dozens of people—with fewer side effects, better engagement, even just less confusion for the residents. That’s transformative.

Anthony Pero

Oh, absolutely. And that’s just one example of how, uh, sharing actionable data leads to better outcomes. On our end, we’re seeing more payer-provider collaborations than ever. Like, everyone from health plans to clinicians can work off the same data, which helps shape broader population health strategies. Instead of waiting until problems boil over, it’s about finding trends early—almost like giving every resident their own micro care team, aligned with the facts, not just assumptions.

Andie Cartwright

That’s what’s most promising about all this—none of it’s just theory or a one-off project. It’s actual change that starts with better data, and gets adopted across, you know, the real world of care. Alright, I think we’d both talk about this for hours if we didn’t have an off switch, so let’s leave it here for now. Anthony, thanks for digging in with me—

Anthony Pero

Always a pleasure, Andie. And thanks to everyone listening. There’s a lot more happening in this space, so stay tuned for our next episode.

Andie Cartwright

Absolutely—take care everyone, see you next time on Better Living Through Data.