How the 21st Century Cures Act Impacts Long-Term Care: Why Family Portals Are Now Essential

December 20, 2025 | Varsha Chaugai

The 21st Century Cures Act is more than a federal mandate; it represents a fundamental shift in how long-term care providers are expected to share information with residents and their families. At its core, the Cures Act demands full, real-time access to electronic health information, which directly affects skilled nursing and long-term care facilities across the U.S. and Canada.

Yet, most long-term care homes still rely on manual communication methods, such as phone calls, voicemails, or printed reports. These outdated methods put communities at risk of noncompliance, increase staff burnout, and weaken trust with families. The solution lies in modern digital tools—specifically, a purpose-built family portal for long-term care.

The Cures Act requires that patients, along with their legal representatives such as Powers of Attorney (POAs), be granted digital access to their complete electronic health records (EHRs). This includes care plans, progress notes, medications, vital signs, appointments, and other clinical information documented in systems like PointClickCare.

Failure to provide this access is classified as information blocking, a violation that can carry financial penalties and reputational harm. In long-term care settings, this means facilities must ensure that families can review health updates quickly, securely, and without additional delays from staff.

Unlike hospitals and clinics, most skilled nursing and long-term care facilities have been slow to adopt digital communication tools. Despite the widespread use of EHR platforms like PointClickCare, few homes have the necessary infrastructure in place to share information externally in a compliant and user-friendly format.

Care teams often spend hours each week fielding calls from families requesting basic updates, which can disrupt care delivery and are usually poorly documented. This approach not only wastes time but also puts the community at risk of falling short of regulatory expectations under the Cures Act.

A family portal designed specifically for long-term care bridges the compliance gap. Unlike general patient portals used in acute care, platforms like Engage⁺ integrate directly with existing EHRs and are tailored to the unique workflows and consent structures of long-term care.

With a platform like Engage⁺, families can access curated health information, send secure messages, receive real-time notifications, and stay connected without needing to call the care team. For providers, every interaction is logged, creating a full audit trail to support compliance with federal and provincial regulations.

Ignoring the need for a digital communication platform creates real risks. Facilities that fail to meet the Cures Act compliance standards may face increased complaints, poor family satisfaction scores, and scrutiny from regulators.

Compliance standards may face increased complaints, poor family satisfaction scores, and scrutiny from regulators.

But the cost isn’t only regulatory. In today’s healthcare environment, families expect transparency. When they don’t understand, they lose confidence, and that can impact occupancy, referrals, and their overall reputation.

Engage⁺ was designed with long-term care providers in mind. By integrating directly with PointClickCare and offering intuitive, role-based access to health data, Engage⁺ enables families to stay informed while reducing the communication burden on nursing staff.

• Meet the 21st Century Cures Act and CMS communication requirements — Engage⁺ ensures families and POAs have the access they are entitled to.
• Reduce time spent on manual updates — Nursing teams no longer need to repeat the same information over dozens of phone calls.
• Improve staff morale by minimizing routine call volume — More time for direct resident care, less time on phones.
• Build family trust with real-time access to resident updates — Keep families engaged and informed at every step.
• Create a full audit trail for every interaction — Support compliance and accountability with robust documentation.

The 21st Century Cures Act is now in effect, and long-term care homes can no longer afford to delay. A modern, compliant family communication portal isn’t just a regulatory checkbox. It’s a strategic investment in transparency, operational efficiency, and family trust.

If your facility is still relying on calls, faxes, or printed updates, it's time to ask: Are you ready for what's next?

Engage⁺ helps communities move beyond outdated methods and build the digital infrastructure required for modern long-term care. Ready to learn more? Book a demo with the Evoke Health team today.