This month, LeadingAge CAST shares two promising policy developments: the newly introduced RUSH Act and a proposed rule from CMS that further the use of telehealth at skilled nursing facilities.
CAST also announces a few new things: an updated Functional Assessment and Activity Monitoring Tool, an Aug. 23 webinar on increasing employee engagement in partnership with PointClickCare, a renamed LTPAC Health IT Summit, and technology sessions at the LeadingAge Annual Meeting & EXPO, Oct. 28-31 in Philadelphia.
Last but not least, we share CAST and CAST members in the news, as well as the next in our series of FutureCAST videos. Read on for details!
LeadingAge Works to Improve RUSH Act, Which Increases Telehealth at SNFs
New bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the United States House of Representatives that would allow qualified physician group practices to furnish telehealth services in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) under the Medicare program.
The Reducing Unnecessary Senior Hospitalization Act (RUSH) Act of 2018 (H.R. 6502) seeks to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations. It allows SNFs to treat patients in place instead of transferring them to the hospital, using a combination of telehealth and on-site first responders.
LeadingAge and CAST believe this proposed legislation is a step in the right direction and provide us an opportunity to enhance upon it to benefit a broader segment of our members and the populations they serve.
CMS Proposed Rule Could Benefit Nursing Homes
A proposed Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rule would expand the use of telehealth and may directly benefit skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). If adopted, the rule would allow CMS to pay clinicians for brief virtual check-ins and for evaluating photos that patients submit.
A recent article in Skilled Nursing News shared my thoughts—that this rule is a step in the right direction and may ultimately expand telehealth coverage for SNFs—and quoted several other experts.
CAST Updates Functional Assessment and Activity Monitoring Tool
LeadingAge CAST has updated its Functional Assessment and Activity Monitoring Technology Selection Tool. This tool is one of six resources that help LeadingAge members and other providers choose the best technology for their facilities while advocating for innovative care models. Updates include additions to the product matrix and online selection tool, plus a new vendor.
Webinar Aug. 23: Increasing Employee Engagement
On Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018, please join LeadingAge and PointClickCare, a LeadingAge Gold Partner with CAST Focus, for a joint webinar on ways to reduce turnover long term. “Creating a Sustainable Culture of Engagement” will take place from 1-2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
Susan Hildebrandt, LeadingAge VP of Workforce Initiatives, will co-present with Chris Beekman, Director of Engagement Strategies at PointClickCare, and Marcey Darmento, Director of Human Resources at Nye Health Services.
LTPAC Health IT Summit Has a New Name
LeadingAge CAST has worked with co-organizers from the LTPAC Health IT Collaborative to rename the Long-Term and Post-Acute Care (LTPAC) Health IT Summit, which CAST convened last June and was a raving success. Moving forward, the Summit will be known as the Collaborative Care & Health IT Innovations Summit.
The Summit will continue to advance integrating pre-acute and LTPAC services into the healthcare and payment ecosystems through technology. Please mark your calendar for June 23-25, 2019, for the next Summit, which will be held at the Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor, in Baltimore, MD. Please bookmark the new Summit website for updates.
LeadingAge Annual Meeting & EXPO Set for Oct. 28-31
Mark your calendar for the LeadingAge Annual Meeting & EXPO, set for Oct. 28-31, 2018, in Philadelphia, PA.
CAST is gearing up for a full track on Aging Services Technologies. Topics include virtual reality and virtual programming, social connectedness/engagement and safety technologies, antibiotic stewardship, and the impact of technology on the resident experience.
We’ll also address cybersecurity, improving health information exchange, intelligent electronic health records (EHRs) and EHR legal considerations, the role of technology in provider-payer convergence, leveraging IT to mitigate the impact of natural disasters, and much more. Register today!
Promising Technologies Featured
Sincere thanks to LeadingAge Service Provider United Church Homes for featuring a Q&A with me on technology and coordinated care, emerging technologies, the 2030 Aging Services Scenario Toolkit, and CAST’s history in a recent issue of Spirit magazine.
FutureCAST Interviews George Sloan and Donna Silbert
In this month’s FutureCAST videos, we hear how George Sloan, VP of Global Sales at LeadingAge CAST Supporter Cornell Communications, and Donna Silbert, Chief Strategy Officer at LeadingAge CAST Patron Parker, are using new technologies at their facilities and what they see as CAST’s top benefits. FutureCAST asks 24 health care executives where they think health care technology is headed and how CAST can play a role.
CAST Members
In this month’s member news, CAST Supporter iN2L and Business Associates HCS, RCare, and RF Technologies have launched new products, partnerships, and integrations and have been recognized for their innovations.
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.