If you work in long-term care, you’ve used one of these two systems. PointClickCare and MatrixCare dominate the EHR market for nursing homes, assisted living, and post-acute care across North America.
This guide breaks down how they actually compare features, pricing, CNA workflows, and login access so administrators, IT teams, and frontline staff can understand what they’re working with.
What Is PointClickCare?
PointClickCare bills itself as the leading EHR technology partner for long-term post-acute care (LTPAC) and senior care in North America. Founded in 1995, it now serves more than 21,000 facilities, including roughly 65% of U.S. skilled nursing facilities.
It’s a single cloud-based system combining clinical documentation, billing, MDS reporting, and care planning. PointClickCare has been rated the #1 Long-Term Care Software Provider by KLAS Research for six consecutive years through 2025.
What Is MatrixCare?
MatrixCare was founded in 2001 and serves over 15,000 long-term care providers. Unlike PointClickCare, which leans heavily toward skilled nursing, MatrixCare caters to a broader range of long-term care settings skilled nursing, senior living, home health, and hospice alike.
Its Home Health and Hospice EHR was named Best in KLAS across multiple categories in 2024, making it the stronger pick specifically for home-based and hospice providers.
Core Features Compared
Both platforms cover the same essential ground: medication management, resident care planning, and billing functionality. Where they differ is depth and focus.
PointClickCare emphasizes financial tools. Its General Ledger/Accounts Payable module manages vendor invoices, payments, and bank reconciliation in one place, tightly integrated with billing and receivables.
MatrixCare emphasizes flexibility across care types. It includes resident management, care plans, medication management, billing, scheduling, and full EHR functionality, and can function as nursing home, long-term care, hospice, or home health software depending on configuration.
Both are SaaS-delivered, meaning there’s no onsite server to maintain updates, patches, and backups are handled by the vendor.
Interoperability and Data Exchange
This is where both companies are investing heavily. PointClickCare’s expanded partnership with Kno2 connects facilities to networks like Carequality and CommonWell, enabling data sharing across hospitals, labs, pharmacies, and other post-acute providers.
MatrixCare offers similar strength, connecting skilled nursing facilities to acute and ambulatory partners through integrations for referrals, lab results, pharmacy data, and hospital discharge summaries.
Despite both vendors’ efforts, industry-wide interoperability still lags. A 2023 HealthIT.gov survey found only 46% of long-term care facilities reported “very good” interoperability, regardless of which platform they used.
Device and Technical Support
MatrixCare is a Microsoft partner, and clinician devices must run Windows and Internet Explorer, though non-Windows devices can connect via Citrix virtualization or Windows Terminal Services typically managed by the facility’s own IT team.
PointClickCare supports desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones across Windows, MacOS, ChromeOS, and Android, with broader native cross-platform flexibility out of the box.
For outage planning, PointClickCare recommends hourly eMAR backups so staff can revert to paper charting if needed, while MatrixCare’s mobile app can work offline and sync once connectivity returns.
PointClickCare CNA: How Point of Care Works
For Certified Nursing Assistants, PointClickCare’s relevant module is Point of Care (POC). It’s the CNA-facing dashboard where staff chart ADLs, meals, fluids, vitals, behaviors, restraint use, and fall risk in real time at the bedside or on a wall-mounted kiosk.
Real-time documentation lets CNAs instantly log care activities, reducing the risk of forgotten or inaccurate notes. The system also supports barcode medication administration, scanning patient wristbands and medication packaging to help prevent errors.
POC data flows directly into the resident’s MDS assessment, care plan, and Medicare billing record which is why it’s the single most-used screen for CNAs working on PointClickCare.
By comparison, MatrixCare’s CNA-facing tools tend to feel heavier and more form-driven from a frontline staff perspective, though it integrates more deeply with rehab therapy workflows.
PointClickCare Login and Access
There’s no public sign-up for either system access is facility-issued. To log in, you visit PointClickCare’s site, enter your assigned username and password, and select your role (such as CNA) to access the relevant dashboard.
Logging into the CNA-specific app follows the same pattern: open a browser, log in with your credentials, then choose the CNA option to reach Point of Care functionality. Mobile versions are available through PointClickCare Companion, which unifies to-do lists and shows critical action items grouped by shift and timing.
Login issues are common but usually simple double-checking your facility selection and credentials resolves most problems, and most organizations provide IT support or a nurse educator as backup.
MatrixCare Login and Access
MatrixCare access works similarly: credentials are issued by your employer, with separate portals depending on your role. There’s a core staff sign-in, a customer community portal for resources and training, and a separate patient-facing portal for those receiving home health or hospice care through a connected agency.
As with PointClickCare, there’s no self-registration if you’re a patient looking to create an account, you contact your care provider, and access is granted by your organization.
Pricing Comparison
Pricing for both platforms is largely quote-based, but published estimates give a useful baseline. PointClickCare’s subscription pricing starts around $700/month for one user, $6,300 for 10 users, and $63,000 for 100 users. MatrixCare starts lower, around $500/month for one user, $4,500 for 10 users, and $45,000 for 100 users.
Other sources report PointClickCare starting closer to $500/month for small facilities, while MatrixCare uses flexible, quote-based pricing that adjusts to facility size, care type, and selected modules.
The takeaway: MatrixCare tends to be the more budget-flexible option, especially for smaller or mixed-care-type organizations, while PointClickCare’s pricing reflects its deeper specialization in skilled nursing finance and reporting.
Vendor Reputation and Reviews
Online sentiment for PointClickCare is positive, with users praising its ease of use and comprehensive features, earning a sentiment score of 85. PointClickCare is known for its user-friendly interface and robust reporting, though some users find it pricier than alternatives.
MatrixCare is praised for customizable workflows and strong interoperability, but some new users report a steeper learning curve.
Both systems also face shared industry-wide pain points. A 2023 Capterra survey found 28% of MatrixCare and PointClickCare users experienced “critical downtime” at least once in the prior year, disrupting medication timing and care planning regardless of vendor.
Which One Should You Choose?
- Skilled nursing facilities focused on financial reporting and billing depth: PointClickCare
- Organizations spanning home health, hospice, and senior living: MatrixCare
- Smaller facilities on a tighter budget: MatrixCare’s flexible pricing tends to fit better
- Cross-platform device flexibility (Mac, Chromebook, Android): PointClickCare
- Heavy Microsoft/Windows-based IT environments already in place: MatrixCare
Neither platform is objectively “better” the right choice depends on your facility type, existing infrastructure, and which workflows your staff already know.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PointClickCare used for?
It’s a cloud-based EHR for long-term and post-acute care, covering documentation, billing, and care planning.
How do I log into PointClickCare as a CNA?
Go to PointClickCare’s login page, enter your facility-issued credentials, then select the CNA role.
Is MatrixCare the same as PointClickCare?
No. They’re competing EHR platforms; MatrixCare covers a broader range of care settings, including home health.
Can I sign up for PointClickCare or MatrixCare myself?
No. Both require facility-issued login credentials there’s no public self-registration.
Which is cheaper, PointClickCare or MatrixCare?
Published estimates suggest MatrixCare generally starts lower, though final pricing is quote-based for both.
