Comparison

CareAscend vs Secure Conversations

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

CareAscend

This app provides SNF leaders with an overview of facility ratings and medical director task management. It offers tools to analyze data, enhance outcomes, and streamline communication for medical directors and administrators.

Highlights
  • Facility 5-star rating overview
  • Geolocation map of facilities
  • Medical director task tracking
  • Data analysis for quality measures
  • Secure communication platform
  • Event scheduling and reminders
  • Task reporting on-the-go
Read full description

My SNFs: CareAscend provides an overview of all of your facilities 5-star ratings and their geolocation on a color-coded map. My MDs: This unique feature provides unprecedented ability to any company leaders such as the Chief Medical Officer, regional medical directors and operational leaders to keep an eye on overall medical director tasks at the company, region or at a facility level. CareAscend provides user-friendly tools to review, slice/ dice and analyze data to understand correlations between facility quality measures and the role of the medical director. CareAscend empowers company leaders to guide facility leaders and medical directors to prioritize various tasks to enhance outcomes. For example, a facility that is struggling with high prevalence of antipsychotic medications, the CareAscend can help facilitate medical director’s focus on staff education for a given quarter. Medical Director Tasks: The program assures that physician leaders, their administrators and other team members are aligned in regards to facility key needs and focus on agreed upon medical director tasks. This approach provides ongoing learning to medical directors about their administrative roles in their facilities and organizations. AMDA (https://paltc.org), Society of Post-acute Medicine and Long-term Care Medicine validates the key tasks medical directors should be performing in alignment with the Code of Federal Regulations. Task Reporting: The CareAscend application platform simplifies the process of logging medical director administrative tasks on-the go. All tasks are communicated to the facility administrator and other assigned supervisors before they are finalized. Traditionally, medical directors have to rely on clunky paper-based processes to log their tasks. CareAscend provides the luxury of reporting tasks as they are being performed, after they are performed or even scheduling future tasks with timely reminders. A live tally of tasks keeps medical director and other team members aware of the number of hours performed for the given month so that remaining hours can be planned and utilized for the prioritized areas. The available tasks are in compliance with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid guidance around the medical director role and have been validated by AMDA (www.paltc.org), the Society of Post-acute Care and Long-term Care Medicine. Communication Platform: CareAscend offers a secure digital platform for prompt communications between facility/ organization administrators, medical director leaders and other assigned team members. It also connects company chief medical officer and other regional directors with team members. All communications are archived for future reference or quality assurance purposes. Event Scheduling: CareAscend includes a calendar so that all team members are able to schedule administrative events and assure that all members are notified of upcoming meetings e.g. quality assurance, infections committee, educational activities, etc. Performance Dashboard: CareAscend allows users to review the performance of their facility/ organizations and compare it to other competitors. The chief medical officers and regional leaders are able to review and compare the task performance of all of their team members across their company. You can compare the tasks performed by 5-star rating facility MDs and also can see which tasks your MDs are performing more. Professional Development: The CareAscend platform makes it simple for physicians to receive notifications for upcoming educational events offered by AMDA, the Society of Post-acute and Long-term Care Members (www.paltc.org) and other professional associations. Physician leaders are able to review their attended events and accumulated educational credits.

About

Secure Conversations

This HIPAA-compliant app enables secure messaging between healthcare providers within senior living environments. It facilitates enhanced communication and collaboration for faster response times and improved decision-making related to patient care.

Highlights
  • HIPAA-compliant messaging
  • Secure communication
  • Care team collaboration
  • Resident-specific conversations
  • Company directory access
Read full description

The HIPAA-compliant PointClickCare Secure Conversations application seamlessly integrates with the PointClickCare SaaS-based senior care platform. It provides clinicians with anytime access and communication with other care teams as it relates to patient care or general questions for overall improved decision making within Senior Living Environments. Using your iPhone or iPad, you can securely and conveniently message physicians, nurses, and staff members. Key benefits include: * enhanced communication and collaboration between care team members. * faster response times between healthcare providers through resident-specific or general conversations. * participation in HIPAA-compliant resident-specific and general conversations. * access to company directory to search contacts. To learn more about PointClickCare, please visit: http://www.pointclickcare.com/

Screenshots

CareAscend4 screens
Secure Conversations4 screens

Verdict

The call

CareAscend and Secure Conversations both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 67% of CareAscend's written reviews are positive against 41% of Secure Conversations's. CareAscend also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). Secure Conversations's advantage is ratings volume (364 vs 91). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for CareAscend against 4.7 for Secure Conversations. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 91 and 364 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of CareAscend's written reviews are positive against 41% of Secure Conversations's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CareAscend ships an update every 3 weeks, Secure Conversations monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
CareAscend versus Secure Conversations: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCareAscendSecure Conversations
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (91 ratings)4.7 (364 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews — better41.4% of reviews
Number of ratings91364 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size182 MB72 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperMavenSphere Inc.PointClickCare

Customer experience

CareAscend

All ratings91 ratings
Positive92.3%
Neutral2.2%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

Secure Conversations

All ratings364 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral1.1%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews29 reviews
Positive41.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative58.6%

Bugs and requests

CareAscend

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Secure Conversations

Reported bugs

45 issues
  • Notifications do NOT work
  • No badge indicator
  • Notifications not classified as Time Sensitive or direct messages
  • Notifications are slipshod at best
  • Notifications don't work
Show 40 more
  • Only get half the notifications
  • Worse after update
  • Member leaves group chat, receive notification
  • Any time a member leaves a group chat I receive a notification
  • See messages from all kinds of other facilities
  • Unless specifically added to a thread, no way to see conversations only for my specific facility/patients
  • Does not work with my work iPad device
  • Providers are unable to receive any conversations from the staff at the home
  • Receive the notifications but the next screen is blank
  • Glitching when opening the program
  • Login process is too long
  • No way to know of new message on iPhone
  • Cannot copy and paste information needed
  • Unable to see clearly what messages are resolved/read
  • Unable to create a rounding list to follow up on messages for patient care
  • Can no longer send secure photo messages
  • Constantly getting error
  • Constantly crashes
  • Can't log in or access
  • Constantly having to reinstall it
  • The audio notifications are slipshod at best
  • It should allow me to cut and paste
  • It should incorporate medical terms on key board memory
  • It should allow us to create smart phrases
  • I wish there’s a search bar when I looked for “Other”
  • It would be better if I can search on the other messages and add on instead of making a new one
  • Still have concerns about messages open and another residents chart
  • Works ok. Notifications do not work which mostly defeats the purpose.
  • This app is not user friendly, it’s cumbersome to use, I don’t see why you have to sign in so often when my phone has a password to get onto it, and it seems that I only get half the notifications that I have a new message.
  • When creating a new message it should save which building I’m apart of, not make me input it every time.
  • It got worse. Can’t copy and paste information needed. Adds liability to all people in conversation when you end and create a progress note. Unable to see clearly what messages are resolved/read. Unable to create a rounding list to follow up on messages for patient care.
  • Can no longer send secure photo messages. Constantly getting error. Old app was much better and user friendly.
  • Please bring back the old version- this app constantly crashes, can’t log in or access and constantly having to reinstall it.
  • Ever since the recent update, any time a member leaves a group chat I receive a notification via the app. Previously I would only be notified when a new message was sent to me. Now I get dozens of notifications per day for my nursing home practice. This is extremely redundant, irrelevant and annoying. Please fix this right away. Thank you
  • This was supposed to be an upgrade for instant, secure messaging for PointClickCare but it really stinks!! There is no way to search, I am able to see messages from all kinds of other facilities, and unless I am specifically added to a thread, there is no way to see conversations only for my specific facility/patients. It doesn’t work with my work iPad device—I have to use a separate app to see the messages. This is absolutely terrible! Bring back the old Tiger Text capability!!
  • I am a medical director at a nursing home. My providers are unable to receive any conversations from the staff at the home. We receive the notifications but the next screen is blank. This is dangerous! Our administrator called for support and they told us just to delete and reinstall the app. Of course this didn’t resolve the issue. Please fix this quickly!
  • This is the second time I’m having to uninstall and reinstall this program due to glitching when opening the program. The older way was way more efficient and didn’t interrupt workflow. Now, I have to open another app while I’m trying to do med reconciliations or ordering/changing medications if I see that I have new notifications that need addressed instead of staying on the same screen. Keeping the messaging program within PCC was better overall.
  • A long way off from being user friendly. Question if the developers even tested or use the app regularly. For the developers to fix: 1- Login. Way too log of a process on my already secure device. I have to enter my 14 character password each time; pw used to be 8 characters or a 4 digit PIN. Better yet, like tiger text, omit the unnecessary login altogether (should have permanent long in if not “logged off, closed app, or similar). 2- Need notifications NOW. I used badges to notify of new messages. There is no way to know of new message on iPhone. Now I have to login each time, over bearing login process as a above, to “check” IF new messages. Nurses end up personally texting me to notify of new “secure” conversation. Have set my time management to only checking conversations am and pm, to avoid timely, unnecessary, ridiculous process. 3- No stored password ability on app to quickly sign on. Issue above. 4- No “return” button on text pad to sort out paragraphs or bullet orders. 5- Has emoji left corner button, but really can’t send emojis. Positives 1- slightly better than nothing. 2- voice record button works.
  • Unbelievably bad. I can’t imagine how this company feels this is functional. Much worse than previous version. Our facility may not even be able to use this.
  • Point click care previously utilized tiger text as a secure messaging platform. Secure conversations is a terrible replacement! Tiger text was efficient secure and easy to use. Secure conversations is an intuitive, difficult to message with, and requires frequent logins.

Requested features

12 requests
  • Option to send photos
  • Allow cut and paste
  • Incorporate medical terms on keyboard memory
  • Create smart phrases
  • Search bar for 'Other' messages
Show 7 more
  • Ability to search on other messages and add on instead of making a new one
  • Dark mode option
  • Permanent login if not logged off or app closed
  • Badge indicator for new messages
  • Save building when creating a new message
  • Return button on text pad for paragraphs or bullet orders
  • Ability to send emojis

In-app purchases

None

CareAscend

No in-app purchases

None

Secure Conversations

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CareAscend free?
CareAscend is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Secure Conversations free?
Secure Conversations is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, CareAscend or Secure Conversations?
Secure Conversations is rated higher. CareAscend averages 4.6 out of 5 from 91 ratings, while Secure Conversations averages 4.7 from 364 ratings.
Do CareAscend or Secure Conversations have ads?
Neither CareAscend nor Secure Conversations shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CareAscend or Secure Conversations?
CareAscend ships an update every 3 weeks, and Secure Conversations monthly. Most recently, CareAscend was updated on October 3, 2026 and Secure Conversations on October 15, 2026.

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