More senior living operators embracing electronic health options
MELBOURNE: More assisted living operators are harnessing electronic health record systems and participating in health information exchanges, a report backed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics has found.
Communities using EHRs rose to 26% from 20% between 2012 and 2016, noted “Trends in Electronic Health Record Use Among Residential Care Communities.” Investigators also found that health information exchange capacity among communities rose to 55% from 47.2% during those years.
“This report provides the most recent national description of EHR use and computerized support for health information exchange among a major provider of community based long-term services and supports — residential care,” the report added.
A spokesman for the NCHS said that actual percentages likely have increased since 2016, the last year for which information is available. Long-term care operators are under increased pressure to use EHRs and related tools to improve care while lowering costs.
