HIMSS14 has been a great conference, and there are some amazing technologies and uses of data that will continue to push innovation forward in healthcare. Unfortunately– though predictably– the post-acute/ long-term care sector was sadly underrepresented. Of three sessions with a LTPAC focus, one was canceled, and the others, while excellent, were scantily attended.
A quick recap of some exciting ideas, products, and innovation:
- Massachusetts has an exciting, ONC-funded program called IMPACT– Improving Massachusetts Post Acute Transfers– that has created a HIE-based platform for connecting long term care providers to secure messaging features, a universal transfer form, and a program called LAND and SEE (Local Adapter for Network Distribution and Surrogate EHR Envronment) . You can read more about the last piece and its architecture here, but it essentially provides a way for LTC communities without an EHR to receive, edit, and send CCDs through a portal connected with acute care EHRs. The pilot program is still being evaluated, but early feedback from providers in all areas of the healthcare continuum seems to be positive.
- PracticeFusion, a fast-growing, web-based, free EHR has an impressive set of features and very thoughtful UX. We’d love to seem a similar program built out for assisted living communities that don’t require the revenue-cycle-heavy components of current LTPAC EHR vendors (and their associated focus on clinical documentation and ADL capture).
- Speaking of LTPAC EHR vendors, it was interesting that HealthMedX (Vision) and MDI Achieve (MatrixCare) had a sizable presence in both the interoperability showcase and the exhibition hall; they’re definitely both very forward-thinking organizations. Answers on Demand had a small booth tucked away in the back (we almost missed them) and PointClickCare was nowhere to be found; we wonder if this is telling about the future of this market.
- Real-time location services (RTLS) is big and growing. The price point of the technology is dropping quickly, and there are a variety of connection strategies, from wifi-enabled to passive IR to bluetooth/ RFID. There are a lot of applications in aging services, particularly in independent, assisted and dementia-specific communities. Additionally, it’s starting to show some promise with device interconnectivity and asset management. (Can’t find which room the Hoyer is hidden in? RTLS provides a cheap solution that will make CNAs’ jobs infinitely easier– and potentially reduce unsafe transfers.)
- Ed Park, COO of Athena Health, delivered the best presentation of the conference: What Healthcare can Learn form Amazon. His slides are also fabulous. Park totally gets what’s needed in healthcare IT, and we hope he’ll push EHR vendors to adopt and publish open APIs, and collaborate with partners in a way that places persons served at the center of thinking.
- Deb Fournier and Clint Davies shared the experience of the Maine Veterans Home EMR implementation. Their slides are worth a look by any organization considering an EMR in the near future. They also experienced some of the challenges when approaching an EMR as an implementation instead of an adoption.
Stay tuned for more learnings and ideas from the conference; we’re still analyzing technologies and forging connections, and we hope to have more things to share soon. It’s been a full week, and we’re super excited about the future of healthcare IT, particularly in aging services.