New Road Map Coincides with 2008 Long-Term Care Health IT Summit

CHICAGO, April 3, 2008—Thought leaders and stakeholders from post-acute and long-term care (LTC) organizations will convene to discuss private and public sector efforts to promote and implement electronic health records and health information technology in LTC settings during the Long-Term Care Health Information Technology Summit (LTC HIT), June 9-10, Baltimore, MD. Focusing on critical health IT initiatives in the industry, the summit has carried six consistent themes since its inception in 2005: adoption, certification, standards, interoperability, quality and research.

A collaboration of LTC and aging community stakeholders founded the summit and developed the initial 2005-2007 road map to build consensus on key action items: education, advocacy and standards. The updated 2008-2010 LTC HIT

road map sharpens the focus on health IT implementation, proactive demonstration and adoption. It also challenges the aging services spectrum to engage in a consumer-centric perspective on using technology to enable innovation and recognize a growing need to address critical adoption barriers.

 “The Long Term Care community has made significant strides since its first road map for health IT in 2005,” said Robert Kolodner, MD, head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. “This latest road map illustrates the importance and value of bringing together collaborative leadership who identify needs and work together to move towards a cohesive vision for the future.”

“The LTC HIT Summit road maps have been invaluable to us as a provider of services throughout the spectrum of LTC care,” said John Derr, CIO and senior vice president of Golden Living, LLC. “It [the road map] provides us with a guideline of where health information technology is going on a national basis so we can plan our role in the community of LTC.” 

Building on progress made since 2005, the action items in the new road map reflect an interwoven approach to reach the goal of an interoperable healthcare system that includes long-term and post-acute care. The road map also details transitions of care and the importance of interconnectivity and interoperability as people in the LTC sector move from one care setting to another.

“We must build on the foundation we've established together in order to transform the healthcare system into the very best for all those served and employed,” said Mary Jane Koren, MD, MPH, assistant vice president at The Commonwealth Fund’s Program on Quality of Care for Frail Elders.  “We look forward to the 2008 Summit and playing a role in advancing LTC information technology as a partner with acute and ambulatory care,” said Derr.

The LTC HIT Summit is sponsored by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA); American Health Care Association (AHCA) and the National Center for Assisted Living (NACL); American Association for Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) and Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST); American Medical Directors Association (AMDA); National Association of Home Care and Hospice (NAHC); and the National Association for the Support of Long Term Care (NASL).

For a copy of the 2008-2010 LTC HIT Road Map or more information about the Long-Term Care Health IT Summit, visit AHIMA’s web site at http://www.ahima.org/meetings/ltc/LTCSummit.asp.

About AHIMA

AHIMA is the leading professional Association representing more than 51,000 specially educated and certified health information management professionals working throughout the healthcare industry.  HIM professionals serve healthcare and the public by managing, analyzing, and utilizing data vital for health system management.