Ninety-nine percent of US hospitals and physicians are more likely to refer patients to a post-acute care provider that can support electronic data exchange, according to a new survey of more than 400 provider entities focused on interoperability.
The survey illustrates the growing urgency for long-term care providers to have electronic interoperability, the process of exchanging healthcare information with other providers.
The Interoperability and Engagement Research Report gathered responses from more than 130 hospital and physician entities that refer patients for post-acute services, and more than 300 PAC providers from skilled nursing, home health, hospice, home medical equipment, pharmacy and home infusion.
Survey respondents’ near unanimous overall preference for interoperability was up from 74% in 2021 and 60% in 2019. Other key findings include that 96% of referring entities are likely to send more referrals to providers that have advanced patient engagement capabilities, such as digital signature capture and real-time data exchange.
Although most providers realize the importance of interoperability, only 39% have advanced their interoperability strategies over the past 12 months, primarily due to workforce and financial resource constraints, including lack of knowledge about their underlying systems’ capabilities, high cost and limited time to focus on interoperability advancement. The survey was commissioned by technology provider Brightree and MatrixCare.
Feds often leave out LTC
The critical need for achieving electronic interoperability is top of mind in the long-term care industry. In fact, the industry has a 2023 deadline for achieving it, but many facilities are falling short of that goal.
At last week’s LeadingAge Leadership Summit, a panel of experts discussed the obstacles facing health information technology, chief among them that most HIT legislation has left out long-term care.
“What the federal government will tell you is that nursing homes have just largely been left out of federal policies that support HIT adoption, that support incentives around it, all the facts that surround it,” Tara McMullen, co-chair of quality improvement and measurement for the Moving Forward Coalition, said in an interview with McKnight’s following the LeadingAge Summit presentation. The Moving Forward Coalition includes providers, staff, residents, policymakers and advocates, and its goal is to advance nursing home quality improvement initiatives in policy and practice.
Thanks to legislative omissions, only 84% of nursing homes have adopted HIT, and 60% don’t have the ability to share data with healthcare providers, recent reports reveal. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has committed to transitioning to value-based arrangements by 2030.
The Moving Forward Coalition wants to improve the IT landscape for long-term care providers before 2030. It’s creating action plans and will start engaging nursing home residents, staff, advocates and the public in July.
