In honor of the power of togetherness, CAST is sharing information on the upcoming Collaborative Care & Health IT Innovations Summit and updates to its Social Connectedness and Engagement Technology Selection Tool. We also are introducing several related case studies. Then we tell you about CAST demonstrations LeadingAge has recommended to the Congressional Telehealth Caucus.
This month, you’ll discover strategies for choosing home healthcare technology, the newly heightened legal importance of making your website accessible to people with disabilities, the new ability of Amazon’s Alexa to learn HIPAA-compliant skills, and what your fellow CAST members have been doing. Let’s get started!
Join Us for the Collaborative Care & Health IT Innovations Summit
In just two months, LeadingAge CAST will convene the Collaborative Care & Health IT Innovations Summit, to be held June 23-25, 2019, in Baltimore, MD. Please register! This premiere health information technology (IT) conference will unite long-term and post-acute care (LTPAC) executives and information technology leaders with acute care providers, payers, and technology vendors serving older adults and people with chronic conditions.
With a theme of “Technology Integrating Pre-Acute and LTPAC Services into the Healthcare and Payment Ecosystems,” the summit will cover the ways technology is enabling innovative care delivery and payment models. It also will discuss broader health IT, interoperability, and health information exchange modalities.
LeadingAge CAST, LeadingAge, and partners in the LTPAC Health IT Collaborative are co-organizing this gathering, previously known as the Long-Term and Post-Acute Care (LTPAC) Health IT Summit, for the second year in a row. Register today!
CAST Updates Social Connectedness and Engagement Technology Selection Tool
We have just updated the CAST Social Connectedness and Engagement Technology Selection Tool, which can help you choose the best technology solution for your organization. The revised tool includes 10 new vendors and offers you 11 new products in the online selection tool and product matrix, as well as eight case studies.
New CAST Case Study, Voice Assistant Technology Lowers Loneliness
One of the new social connectedness case studies comes to us from LeadingAge CAST Patron AARP Foundation, which initiated a pilot program to explore how well hands-free, voice-activated technology could sustain social connectedness. “Reducing Social Isolation in Affordable Senior Housing using Voice Assistant Technology” shows the program increased low-income residents’ social interaction, made them feel that support was available, and reduced their loneliness.
New CAST Case Study Shares the Social Power of Wi-Fi
Another new CAST case study addresses the power of Wi-Fi to connect residents in senior living. “Campus-Wide blanketWiFi™ at Croasdaile Village Retirement Community Separately Accommodates Residents, Guests, Administrative, and Medical” outlines how robust Wi-Fi can keep residents from becoming socially isolated.
CAST Shares Demonstrations with Congressional Telehealth Caucus
Two LeadingAge CAST demonstrations were shared recently with the Congressional Telehealth Caucus, which requested information on how best to craft comprehensive telehealth legislation. Politico noted that LeadingAge is advocating to consider older adults’ needs in this legislation.
LeadingAge encouraged the caucus to implement legislation that tests new delivery models that address older adults in skilled nursing facilities and improve health outcomes among Medicare beneficiaries living in the community in home-based settings.
LeadingAge recommended CAST’s Chronic Care Management in the Community Demonstration and its Reducing Hospitalizations and Hospital Readmissions of Nursing Home Residents Demonstration. The proposed demonstrations would do the following:
- Waive certain statutory Medicare telehealth requirements, such as rural and originating site restrictions, and allow the patient’s home to be an eligible originating site for administering telehealth services.
- Allow additional long-term services and supports providers to bill for chronic care and complex care management in broader segments of the Medicare population.
Learn more in “LeadingAge Recommends Medicare Changes to Congressional Telehealth Caucus,” and read our detailed recommendations.
Strategies to Help You Choose Home Healthcare Technology
Last month, the White House released “Emerging Technologies to Support an Aging Population,” which named six key ways technology could improve older Americans’ longevity, health, and independence. Yet narrowing down and implementing the many tech tools can be a challenge. In a recent Home Health Care News article, I share several strategies to help home health providers choose the best technology solutions.
Nonprofit Websites Must Comply with ADA, Says New Court Decision
In light of a recent court decision, make sure your website is accessible to people who have disabilities—even if you have a nonprofit. Organization websites that are inaccessible to consumers with visual, auditory, or other disabilities may violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). An accessible website also makes your organization inclusive of all residents, patients, families, supporters, and more. Check these tips for website ADA compliance.
Amazon’s Alexa Has HIPAA-Compliant Skills
Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant, now has HIPAA-compliant skills, within the confines of an invitation-only program for six organizations. Yet Amazon has indicated it will expand the program in the future—opening possibilities for senior living, said a recent article in Senior Housing News.
CAST Members in the News
This month in Member News, help me congratulate a CAST Partner, Patron, and two Business Associates. The first is MatrixCare LeadingAge Gold Partner with CAST focus, for being selected as enterprise technology solution by CAST Patron RiverSpring Health. Formerly known as the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, RiverSpring Health is a leader that has recently been approved to become New York City’s first life plan community. One other associate has released a new product, while yet another gained a new client for its healthcare IT platform.
Feel Free to Contact Me
If you have news to share with CAST or if I can be of assistance in any way, please don’t hesitate to contact me.