Olio vs Exacare: How the Two Compare for SNF Admissions and Beyond
A side by side look at Olio and Exacare for skilled nursing operators. Both handle inbound referrals well. This guide covers where each platform is stronger, what the capability comparison shows, and why post-discharge coordination changes the decision for facilities held accountable for 30-day readmissions.
Olio and Exacare both handle inbound referrals well, and a skilled nursing facility evaluating either one will find the admissions workflows evenly matched. The difference shows up after the admission decision, when a resident moves through the stay, into an outbound referral, and back home. Olio coordinates that full episode. Olio also provides real-time outcomes data that SNFs can use to earn more referrals. Exacare's public product documentation shows no equivalent. This comparison reflects public product materials as of October 1, 2026.
Where Olio and Exacare are evenly matched
Admissions is the part where the capabilities line up closely. Both platforms offer the following:
Inbound referral intake with screening on your own facility criteria and complete safety screening.
High-cost medication flagging and insurance verification, including eligibility and benefit days.
Managed care contract handling and in-network and out-of-network tracking.
Outbound referral notifications by secure email, and two-way coordination with home health and hospice partners inside the platform.
Internal messaging, tagging, and assignment tracking for your team.
EHR integrations with PointClickCare and MatrixCare.
A mobile-optimized experience and enterprise security.
Benchmarking across the facilities in your portfolio.
If your main question is which platform will screen an inbound referral well, either one will. The more useful question is what each platform does once the referral becomes an admission.
Where Exacare is stronger
Two capabilities favor Exacare, and an honest comparison names them.
Exacare documents a PDPM tool for estimating reimbursement during referral review. Olio does not offer a PDPM estimate as of today. Exacare also provides a bed board for visual bed management, which Olio does not have today.
Where Olio separates: the episode after admission and winning more referrals
Exacare's analytics and workflows end at the front door. Olio follows the resident through the stay, into the outbound referral, and out through the 30-day readmission window. These are the capabilities that differ:
Capability | Olio | Exacare |
Safe Return post-discharge workflow | Yes | No |
Tracking of service refusals and start of care | Yes | No |
Visibility into patient progress at home | Yes | No |
Patient tracked past placement through the full episode, with a documented transition of care | Yes | No |
Post-discharge outcomes and 30-day readmissions | Yes | No |
Home health and hospice partner performance | Yes | No |
Data and Insights that win you more referrals | Yes | No |
The last capability is the big one. Referrals are the lifeblood of a SNF. Many software companies like Exacare promise to speed up referral processing, and do that well, but they cannot actually get you more referrals. Olio gives SNFs real-time outcomes data they can take to their meetings with referral partners and health plans. This data helps SNFs get into narrow networks to get more referrals and negotiate better contracts.
Olio also keeps your team connected to the home health providers caring for your discharged residents. Your staff see updates on patient progress, confirmation that home health showed up, and early signs that something is going wrong at home. That connection gives your team a chance to intervene before a readmission happens, not weeks afterward.
Olio also serves health plans and provider groups/health systems, not only skilled nursing facilities.
Why the post-discharge gap carries a cost
Skilled nursing facilities are accountable for what happens after a resident leaves. Under the SNF Value-Based Purchasing program, CMS withholds 2% of a facility's Medicare fee-for-service Part A payments and pays back a share based on performance, which is measured on 30-day readmissions.
The clinical picture explains why. Research published on PMC found that 1 in 4 patients discharged to a SNF are readmitted within 30 days. A separate PMC study found that only about 20% of patients discharged home from a SNF received home health care, and those who did had lower 30-day readmission rates. Knowing whether home health showed up, and acting when it did not, is where a facility can change the result. We cover that gap in more detail in our piece on the post-discharge visibility gap.
Which platform fits which facility
Exacare is a strong fit if your priority is inbound referral speed, and that only.
Olio is the better fit if your facility carries value-based or managed care exposure, and you want visibility into what happens to residents after discharge. It is also the better fit if you want one platform that covers the inbound referral, the stay, the outbound referral, and the 30 days that follow.
For a wider look at evaluation criteria, see our buyer's guide to care coordination software for SNFs.
Five questions to ask in any demo
Use these with Olio, Exacare, or any other vendor.
Can you show an inbound referral from our busiest hospital portal, from intake to decision, with our own screening criteria loaded?
What outcomes data can I show to referral partners to win more referrals?
How do we find out whether home health made the first visit, and who is alerted if it did not happen?
Can we see 30-day readmissions by facility and by home health partner?
What is the price per building, in writing? Olio lists its price at $500 per building per month on its skilled nursing facilities page.
See the full comparison
The capability chart on our skilled nursing facilities page shows every row, including the two where Olio does not have a feature today. If you would like to see how Safe Return works on a real discharge, we are glad to walk your team through it.
