LeadingAge CAST has updated its Electronic Health Record (EHR) Selection Tool, which gives aging services providers background on EHR systems and products to help them choose the best technology for their needs. It also presents updates to the LeadingAge CAST 7-Stage EHR Adoption Model, which found increasing levels of sophistication among EHRs in use by long-term and post-acute care (LTPAC) providers.

The revised tool includes updated product information on 19 products, plus one new vendor. Extended Care Professional (ECP) is an electronic health record (EHR), electronic medication administration record, and clinical charting system for long-term care communities.

A new CAST case study has also been added. “Quick Transition of EHR Platforms after New Acquisitions” explains how an assisted living provider quickly brought two new communities onto its existing ECP Assisted Living software. Using an onsite implementation team and a train-the-trainer approach, Stellar Senior Living was able to easily convey its culture and processes and procedures to new employees. Doing so offered an optimized experience for residents, with better clinical outcomes, and for business operations.

LeadingAge CAST 7-Stage EHR Adoption Model

In addition, LeadingAge CAST has updated its 7-Stage EHR Adoption Model, which measures the rate at which LTPAC providers are adopting sophisticated EHR systems.

In 2021, more providers have shifted into stages five through seven, indicating they are using increasingly sophisticated systems with higher functionalities, especially in information sharing.

Of the seven stages, most providers fall in stage five (24%) and stage six (21%), with 8% in stage seven. The chart below includes results beginning in 2016, the year CAST created the model. To determine where providers fall on the spectrum, CAST queries EHR vendors on their clients’ use.

The LeadingAge CAST 7-Stage EHR Adoption Model is based on the types of functionalities, their sophistication, and their focus, as opposed to rigid specific functions. The stages are as follows:

• Stage 1 – Basic Information System – Without the clinical elements of an EHR.
• Stage 2 – Basic EHR.
• Stage 3 – Ancillary & Clinical Administration (Non-Integrated) – Extends the EHR beyond its basic setting-specific functionalities to other ancillary areas and adds efficiency capabilities.
• Stage 4 – Advanced EHR (Internal Quality-Focused) – Adds functionalities and capabilities that allow providers to use their EHR to improve care quality inside their organization.
• Stage 5 – External Ancillary Services Integration – Focuses on basic integration between the EHR and other external and ancillary systems.
• Stage 6 – Engagement & Basic Information Exchange – Focuses on tools and capabilities that aim to engage different members of the care team, including the physician and possibly the patient/resident/client, as well as basic information exchange capabilities.
• Stage 7 – Interoperability & Health Information Exchange – Represents the ideal full interoperability stage the sector strives for that allows the exchange of information in a standards-based data format that other EHRs can both understand and consume.

CAST Technology Selection Tools

LeadingAge CAST offers nine Technology Selection Tools to help providers narrow their options when evaluating technologies and choose the solution that best meets their organization’s needs. Each portfolio includes a white paper with important background on the technology category; a selection matrix and online selection tool that present specific vendors’ offerings; and provider case studies that show how these technologies work in practice. Be sure to access these tools:

• Data Analytics Selection Tool
• EHR Technology Selection Tool
• Functional Assessment and Activity Monitoring Technology Selection Tool
• Health Information Exchange (HIE) Technology Selection Tool
• Medication Management Selection Tool
• Safety Technology Selection Tool
• Shared Care Planning and Coordination Technology Selection Tool
• Social Connectedness and Engagement Technology Selection Tool
• Telehealth and RPM Selection Tool

Join our Virtual Summit June 8-10, 2021

For more LeadingAge CAST resources that can provide substantial support to your organization, register for the Collaborative Care & Health IT Innovations Summit, taking place virtually June 8-10, 2021–and it is now free to all care providers!

LeadingAge CAST convenes the summit to address how technology is connecting the health care ecosystem in the era of health and payment reforms. Sessions and keynotes will address innovative care delivery and payment models enabled by technology, including the broader health IT, interoperability, and health information exchange modalities.

After a year of struggling with COVID, many providers have shared that their budgets will not allow them to attend this year’s Collaborative Care & Health IT Innovations Summit. LeadingAge is now offering free registration to all care providers across the collaborative care continuum, to enable everyone to come together, learn, share, and collaborate.

Register for free today!