Providers of long-term and post-acute care (LTPAC) — and various stakeholders in the LTPAC field — are getting ready to gather for an important Health Information Technology (IT) Summit on June 26-28 in Reston, VA.
Co-sponsored and co-organized by LeadingAge and CAST, the LTPAC Health IT Summit is designed to help providers address challenges and take advantage of opportunities encountered as they deliver technology-enabled services and supports to older adults.
As we pack our bags for this year’s summit, we’re seeing some hopeful signs that aging services technologies continue to gain traction at the national level.
This doesn’t mean that it’s time to relax, of course. It’s more important than ever that we continue to work with each other and a variety of stakeholders to ensure that the field of aging services technologies continues to move forward.
The LTPAC Health IT Summit is a great place to connect with those stakeholders, learn from one another, and build on our successes to date.
Be sure to read our expanded article about the LTPAC Health IT Summit in this issue of Tech Time. The article includes more information about the summit’s impressive keynote speakers, as well as a full list of summit sessions that CAST is leading and coordinating.
In addition, check out how you can save $75 on the conference if you register online by June 21.
A New Law to Support Broadband Access
Among the hopeful signs we’ve been seeing in the field of aging services technologies came in early June when the U.S. Senate passed The Rural Health Care Connectivity Act of 2015, almost a full year after it was introduced by Sen. John Thune (R-SD). The new law will allow skilled nursing facilities (SNF) to apply for federal funds that will help them pay for broadband services.
This is great news because Internet connectivity is required for a wide array of technology-enabled services in rural and urban areas alike, including telehealth, medication management, and remote monitoring.
I hope you’ll read our article about the new law, and ask the Universal Service Fund’s Rural Health Care Program (RHCP) to help you implement telecommunications and broadband services in your SNF.
A New Report Supporting Technologies for Aging in Place
Passage of the Rural Health Care Connectivity Act comes on the heels of an important new report from the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) suggesting that technology should be a top priority for policy makers who want to help older adults age healthfully in their homes and communities.
Specifically, Healthy Aging Begins at Home makes 3 technology-related recommendations that support the expansion of telehealth, broadband access, and research demonstrating the effectiveness of health technologies for low-income older adults.
CAST welcomes this timely and comprehensive report, applauds the BPC on this effort, and supports its recommendations.
Leading the Way with an Updated EHR Selection Tool
Equally pleasing to me is the fact that CAST is leading the way in promoting the integration of technology into settings where older adults receive services and supports. Among our most impressive contributions to the field, in my view, are the series of technology selection portfolios that we have developed and that we update each year to make them relevant and useful to LTPAC providers.
Today, we are releasing our 2016 Electronic Health Record (EHR) Selection Portfolio, developed by CAST specifically for long-term and post-acute care.
The updated portfolio features a new 7-Stage Adoption Model, which provides a framework that LTPAC providers can use to assess their level of EHR adoption and to gauge the sophistication of their EHR use. The portfolio also contains an updated whitepaper featuring a new interactive online guide, an enhanced Product Selection Matrix and Online Selection Tool, and a new case study from LeadingAge Silver Partner with CAST Focus PointClickCare.
I hope you’ll take a few minutes to review the portfolio and put it to use as you plan for and select your new EHR.
Sharing Our Expertise
Finally, CAST received 2 additional confirmations of our leadership role in the LTPAC field this month:
- CAST and CAST Patron Front Porch were featured prominently when McKnight’s Long-Term Care News published a special supplement on “Technology: Changing the Future” as part of its June edition.
- Leaders from CAST Business Associates Benchmark Senior Living and PointRight, and CAST Patron Acts Retirement-Life Communities were featured in a recent Senior Housing News article about how senior living companies are positioning themselves to participate in emerging pay-for-performance care models.
New CAST Case Study
We are pleased to bring you a new CAST case study about how CAST Supporter It’s Never 2 Late (iN2L) helped CAST Patron Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay (WCCBay) use technology to transform dementia care.
The case study describes a 24-week research study that tested whether using iN2L computer technology could help increase socialization and improve mental health among residents of WCCBay’s nursing home and memory support settings. I think you will be impressed by the results.
Also in This Issue
This issue of Tech Time is filled with lots of great news about LeadingAge Partners engaged with CAST, and CAST Business Associates.
Check out our articles about the great news that Philips is sharing about sensors, veterans, and medical adherence. Philips is a LeadingAge Silver Partner and CAST Supporter.
You’ll also be interested in reading about PointClickCare’s recent filing for an Initial Public Offering. PointClickCare is a LeadingAge Silver Partner with CAST Focus.
And don’t miss our article containing news about recent changes at CAST Business Associates PointRight and HCS.
Feel Free to Contact Me
I hope you enjoy these and other articles in this issue of Tech Time. Please contact me with any questions for comments.