This month, we lead with news of the upcoming technology sessions at the LeadingAge Annual Meeting & EXPO, then share a funding opportunity. We’ll explore how hospitals are following long-term and post-acute care facilities in adoption of electronic health records (EHRs). Next, we look at whether the market is ready for home care technology and at the U.S. House’s passage of the SELF-DRIVE Act.
We’ll examine research results showing the quality of care delivered by videoconferencing telemedicine and a promising study on smart home tech in retirement communities. In closing, we congratulate CAST Business Associates on their recent achievements.
CAST Sessions at Annual Meeting Oct. 29 – Nov. 1
To learn even more about current trends in aging services technologies, please join us for the LeadingAge Annual Meeting & EXPO on Oct. 29 – Nov. 1, 2017, in New Orleans, LA. Register for this unique Technology Deep Dive Pre-Conference workshop bringing the perspectives of policymakers, payers, acute care, and technology companies to LeadingAge Members on Sunday Oct. 29, 8:00-12:00, as well as 11 sessions in the Aging Services Technologies track throughout the main conference.
Then, join us to discuss the field at the CAST Technology Network Reception on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Or stop by the CAST booth, #2109, to ask questions and share your learnings with us. Register today!
Funds Available
If you have a product or service aimed at solving challenges in aging and brain health, apply for funding through the Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI) and its Industry Innovation Partnership Program (I2P2). Up to $3 million Canadian dollars in funding will be available for solution testing and validation in the areas of aging in place, caregiver support, care coordination and navigation, and cognitive health. Apply by Oct. 16, 2017.
New EHR Adoption Data in SNFs and Critical Access Hospitals
Recent data from the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology (ONC) found that a majority (64%) of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) used an EHR in 2016. This is the first time nationally representative data has been released since the 2004 National Nursing Home data that LeadingAge analyzed and published in 2009. Adoption rates in not-for-profit homes were higher (70%) than in their for-profit peers (62%) at a statistically significant level, as in previous data from the 2009 study and other LTPAC sector studies. Surprisingly, the latest study shows that smaller as well as rural SNFs had slightly higher adoption than their larger and urban peers, though the differences were not statistically significant.
Another recent study showed that smaller critical access hospitals’ use of advanced electronic health record (EHR) functions mirrors what LeadingAge CAST and Ziegler found earlier this year when they asked members of the LeadingAge Ziegler 150, the largest nonprofit senior living systems in the United States, to classify the sophistication of their current EHRs using CAST’s 7-Stage EHR Adoption Model.
The findings revealed that larger LTPAC nonprofit organizations are leading their smaller peers in EHR adoption and EHR sophistication, advanced functionalities, and health information exchange capabilities. Last month, an unrelated study found that critical-access hospitals are falling behind other hospitals in their use of advanced EHR functions.
Home Care Tech Models Face Challenges
Two companies promoting technology-first approaches to home care have closed this year, leading some to question if this business model is viable. Home Health Care News (HHCN) recently reported that Respect has closed after only six months in Chicago and that California-based HomeHero closed in the spring of 2017. Find out why and what technology companies could/ should do to increase the likelihood of success in this challenging space.
Self-Driving Cars Speed Up
The move to bring self-driving cars to market, which could increase independence among older adults, accelerated on Sept. 6, 2017, when the U.S. House of Representatives passed the SELF DRIVE Act. The bill is said to be the first significant federal legislation to spur autonomous cars to market and would allow automakers to innovate without having to meet current auto safety standards.
Video Telemedicine Gets the Green Light
A new study published in Neurology® has found that video conferencing can deliver quality care to patients who have Parkinson’s disease. This study is the first national randomized controlled trial of telemedicine to connect remote specialists to patients directly in their homes.
This study supports a recent LeadingAge Aging Services Technology Issue Brief, which holds that telemedicine can help long-term and post-acute care providers deliver integrated and person-centered care, supporting older adults’ health. In addition, CAST’s technology policy priorities include advocating with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agencies for more demonstration projects focusing on health IT and telehealth.
Turning Sensor Data into Caregiver Alerts
A new study is exploring how smart-home technology can monitor retirement community residents with chronic conditions, flag health events and important behaviors, and lighten caregivers’ loads by turning smart home sensor data into caregiver alerts. We hope the research will enable retirement community residents to be more independent and better able to age in place.
Member News
In this month’s member news, we share that CAST Business Associate CDW Healthcare is a key sponsor of a new Thrive Innovation Center, which will be a nonprofit innovation center focused on the needs of the aging population. The new center will launch on Oct. 19, 2017, in Louisville, KY.
Please join us in congratulating CAST Business Associate HCS, which recently signed eight new health care clients, representing 28 hospitals and 20+ additional care settings across 10 states.
Home automation pilots by CAST Business Associate K4Connect are going strong and were featured in a recent issue of Lancaster Online. Following pilots on K4Community’s home automation and community portal features, the open architecture K4Box now is being added to 72 cottages being built at LeadingAge Member Masonic Village in Elizabethtown, PA.
Please 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.