Buttonworks and paper, whiteboards, and radio
Most buildings do not run on software. They run on a note in a pocket, a line on the whiteboard at the nurses' station, and somebody calling it over the radio. It is free, everybody knows how, and it works right up until the person holding it goes home.
Where paper works well
- Nobody has to be trained and nobody has to log in. On day one, a new agency worker can use it.
- It works in a power cut, in a dead spot, and when the wifi is down.
- It is honest about ambiguity. A person can write "Mrs Alvarez seemed upset about lunch again" in a way no dropdown allows.
Where it runs out
- The request only exists where the paper is. A shift change, a day off, or a pocket in the wash and it is gone.
- There is no owner and no clock. Nobody can answer who has this and how long they have had it without asking around.
- The context leaves with the people. Certified nursing assistant turnover was 42.34% in a 2025 to 2026 report covering 917 nursing homes, and paper holds none of what those people knew.
- Patterns stay invisible. Nine notes about the same radiator are nine notes, and the tenth one is a capital expense nobody saw coming.
- Writing things down twice is already the problem. Adding a second book is not a fix.
Side by side
| Paper | Buttonworks | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to start | Nothing | A subscription |
| Training | None | None for residents. Staff learn one screen |
| Survives a shift change | Only if handed over | Yes |
| Who is on it | Whoever remembers | The team it was routed to |
| How long has it been open | Unknown | Timestamped from the moment it arrived |
| Recurring problems | Noticed eventually | Visible in the record |
| Works with no power or signal | Yes | No |
What happens with Buttonworks
- The resident's own message is the record. Nobody transcribes it, because the transcription is the first thing that happens.
- Every request has a team, a time, and a status from the moment it arrives.
- A request that nobody has picked up is visible as exactly that, instead of being invisible until somebody complains.
- What the resident said stays attached to the work order, so the detail does not get lost in the retelling.
Paper is not the enemy and it is not going away. The question is whether the requests residents make out loud, all day, ever end up anywhere you can look at them later.
Buttonworks is in early access. Statistics on this page are cited on the Sources page. See the other comparisons, or what Buttonworks does.
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