SECOND LONG TERM CARE HEALTH IT SUMMIT ANNOUNCED
Summit to explore eight action items necessary to advance EHR/HIT adoption in LTC

CHICAGO, May 17—Following the success of last fall’s meeting and continuing efforts to advance the use of electronic health record (EHR) and health information technology (HIT) adoption in the long term care (LTC) setting, a second Long Term Care Health IT Summit has been announced for June 8 – 9 in Baltimore, MD. The Summit will bring together six co-sponsoring organizations and more than 20 strategic partners representing consumers, providers, physicians, vendors and LTC professionals to explore eight action items identified in last year’s report, “A Road Map for Health IT in Long Term Care.”

“The first Summit mobilized stakeholders to recognize their common interests and vision and set a course of collaboration to improve the planning for and use of health information in long term care,” states Lorraine Tarnove, Executive Director, American Medical Directors Association. “This year we will be exploring those specific items necessary to move this agenda forward.”

Through panel presentations and discussions, the Summit will explore the following action items: funding; data content standards; chronic care and wellness; standardized transfer form/summary of care; e-prescribing and medical safety; research and benchmarks; quality initiatives and health IT; and emerging issues. Detailed information about each of the action items can be found in “A Road Map for Health IT in Long Term Care” at http://www.ahima.org/infocenter/whitepapers/documents/LTC_HIT_Summit_Report_Final_122005.pdf.

New this year, summit co-sponsors, strategic partners, attendees and vendors are invited to submit case studies related to successful HIT implementation in LTC. Case studies may, but are not required to, address one or more summit sessions and areas of interest.

The 2006 Long Term Care Health IT Summit will take place at the Marriott Baltimore Inner Harbor at Camden Yards. For more information, including case study submission guidelines, registration and hotel accommodations, visit the American Health Information Management Association’s (AHIMA) Web site at http://www.ahima.org/meetings/ltc.

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