Many doctors feel that EHR software reduces their face-to-face time with patients, primarily because data entry is so time-consuming.

By Pam McDonald

As pointed out in Part 1 of this series (which you can read here), not every health professional is a fan of electronic health record (EHR) systems, even though such platforms already are demonstrating their value – promoting better clinical outcomes, improving patient safety, and lowering costs.

Many doctors feel that EHR software reduces their face-to-face time with patients, primarily because data entry is so time-consuming. Fortunately, MatrixCare®, a Senior Housing Forum partner, is poised to win over doctors (and all other EHR users).

Introducing CareCommunity™

This summer and fall, they are rolling out CareCommunity™, a secure web-based platform that coordinates and displays patient data as a comprehensive longitudinal record – a clinical summary of a person’s encounters with the health care delivery system over time.

To design and perfect its platform, MatrixCare® uses the expertise it has gained from 30+ years developing purpose-built software that enables long-term post-acute care (LTPAC) providers to effectively and efficiently manage resident care as well as operational and administrative functions.

Innovation Makes EHRs Easier for Users

CareCommunity™ integrates a half-dozen or so innovations that make it more complete and easier to use. First, it offers a single health information access point to seniors and their family members as well as their entire health care team – physicians, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, senior living providers, etc.

Secondly, it displays care and treatment information regardless of the setting in which it was delivered; hospitals, clinics, skilled nursing facilities, senior living and life plan communities (CCRCs), or private homes with or without the support of home health personnel.

Deconstructed/Reconstructed Data

But probably CareCommunity’s™ most unique improvement is that incoming information from EHRs is deconstructed into separate bits that then are reconstructed into a variety of easy-to-view-and-use formats. It is not merely a collection of health and medical documents, but of data that does not have to be re-entered into the program.

As Maria Moen, MatrixCare’s Senior Product Manager, says, “The information provided in CareCommunity™ is an aggregation of EMR data from our own and other information sources. Incoming data packets or documents are deconstructed upon receipt, allowing the data to be liberated within the platform into discrete elements that can then be graphed across time, space and place, so as to achieve a true longitudinal health record.”

She continues, “The need to copy, fax, email and manage multiple pieces of paper disappears from the busy provider’s daily life for this set of tasks. And, it’s important to mention that in addition to the removal of resource effort, we also remove the associated margin of error in mis-filing or mis-placing the documents.”

Long-Term Care Is Changing

Senior living and other long-term care providers are aware that the federal government – the primary payer of long-term care through Medicare and Medicaid – is spearheading a transition to a fee-for-value payment model.

Since 2009 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have incentivized the adoption of EHR systems, and all MatrixCare EHR technology is certified by CMS. CareCommunity™ is designed to facilitate higher levels of compliance, lower readmission rates, and improve quality scores.

Watch for Part 3 of this series of articles for details about additional innovations that increase value to users of CareCommunity™.

For more information, call (866) 469-3766 or click on the logo below to visit its website.

 

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MatrixCare® currently is the platform of choice for over 12,000 facility-based care settings, offering purpose-built software systems for skilled nursing facilities, senior living providers, life plan communities (CCRCs), and home health agencies.