I was disappointed earlier this month when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final rule for the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). CMS missed a golden opportunity to strengthen the role that telehealth plays in improving care coordination and lowering health care costs among Accountable Care Organizations (ACO).
An article in this issue of Tech Time explains that the final rule does not include a proposed provision that would have allowed CMS to waive certain telemedicine rules for ACOs, including requirements that patients be in health care settings located in rural areas, and that telemedicine encounters utilize synchronous audio-video communications modalities.
The new MSSP rules are designed to lower the initial risk of creating an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and increase participation in the program. If recent research from Philips is any indication, a strong stance on telehealth would have helped MSSP accomplish these goals.
Philips, a LeadingAge Silver Partner and CAST Supporter, and Arizona-based Banner Health, were able to reduce hospitalizations by 45%, and reduce acute and long-term care costs by 32%, among chronically ill patients participating in the first 6 months of their joint telehealth pilot program.
The impressive outcomes reported in our article about the Philips research should spur CMS to follow through on its plans to begin offering waivers of telehealth restrictions to ACOs starting “as early as 2017.”
Last Call for the LTPAC Heath IT Summit: June 21-23
We’ll be talking about telehealth next week when long-term and post-acute care (LTPAC) providers gather in Baltimore on June 21-23 for the 11th Annual LTPAC Health Information Technology (IT) Summit.
It’s not too late to attend! You can register for the conference when you arrive at the Hilton Baltimore on the Inner Harbor. Onsite registration opens at 2 p.m., on Sunday, June 21. Let the registration staff know that you are a LeadingAge or CAST member, and you’ll get a $100 discount on your full registration package! Discounted 1-day registration options are also available.
Please see our article to learn more about the summit.
CAST Survey: Respond for a Chance to Win an iPad
One of the great things about the LTPAC Health IT Summit is that it gives CAST an opportunity to see many providers of aging services and learn about the trends affecting them, the challenges they face, and the impact of technology on their operations. That important information helps LeadingAge and CAST advocate for the technology needs of our sector with vendors, regulators and policy makers.
To expand our knowledge of members, CAST recently began surveying members of LeadingAge listservs for nursing home, assisted living, and continuing care retirement community (CCRC) providers. Today, we are expanding the survey audience to readers of Tech Time.
We hope you will complete our provider-specific survey by the end of Monday, June 22, 2015. To encourage participation, we are offering respondents a chance to win 1 of 3 new iPads—1 in each provider category. Providers who have already completed the survey and provided their work email address will be automatically entered into the drawing.
Please complete the CCRC Survey, the Assisted Living Survey, or the Nursing Home Survey, depending on what type of provider you are. Each of the 3 online surveys should take you less than 10 minutes to complete. Learn more about the surveys in this issue of Tech Time.
August in Australia
I hope you are planning to attend the Technology Forum that CAST and the International Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing (IAHSA) are sponsoring on Aug. 31 in conjunction with the joint conference of IAHSA and Aged and Community Services Australia in Perth, Australia.
See our article for some updated information about the Technology Forum agenda, which will include the sharing of CAST’s practical, hands-on tools for planning, selecting and implementing appropriate technologies and very exciting provider case studies.
Updating CAST Tools
Speaking of CAST tools, be sure to read our articles about the 3 new resources we are excited to share with you this month: our updated Medication Management portfolio, an update to our 2011 Case Study Collection, and a new CAST Patron Case Study.
Medication Management: The updated Medication Management portfolio includes an expanded selection matrix, which compares products from 29 vendors across 305 different functionalities; an online selection tool that helps providers identify medication management products that fit their care settings; an updated whitepaper exploring the range of issues associated with medication management; and a set of 4 new case studies of how providers implemented medication management technologies.
Case Study Collection: Lessons Learned While Preparing for the Future: Revisiting the Accomplishments of Technology Pioneers in the Field of Aging Services explores how 13 organizations—and their technology-enabled services—have evolved since they were first featured in our 2011 report, Preparing for the Future: Developing Technology-Enabled Long-Term Services and Supports for a New Population of Older Adults.
Patron Case Study: A new CAST Patron Case Study describes how Ingleside, a CAST Patron and LeadingAge Member in Washington, DC, implemented the BoardMax solution from Streamlink Software to improve communications with the 70 members of its 5 boards.
Also in This Issue
This issue of Tech Time is filled with great news from CAST Partners, Supporters, Patrons, Business Associates, and LeadingAge Members.
Check out articles about CAST Commissioner Dave Wessinger, co-founder and chief technology officer at CAST Partner PointClickCare, who explored the benefits of interoperability in a recent blog.
Don’t miss our article about how Direct Supply, a LeadingAge Gold Partner with CAST Support, is transforming a 5-story, 19th century landmark in downtown Milwaukee, WI, into an innovation center and start-up incubator.
Be sure to read our article about how CAST Supporter It’s Never 2 Late, CAST Business Associates AOD Software and Akili Software, and LeadingAge Members La Loma Village and Bishop Gadsden Episcopal Retirement Community were on the receiving—and the giving—end when prominent technology awards were distributed this spring.
And don’t miss the achievements that are landing CAST Patron Front Porch, CAST Business Associates BAM Labs and Caremerge, and LeadingAge Member Francis E. Parker Memorial Home in the news.
I hope you enjoy these and other articles in this issue of Tech Time. Please contact me with any comments or questions.