Journal Of Healthcare Information Management

between LTPAC and acute care settings. Moreover, they are working to provide value to LTPAC organizations through reduced staff time, improved clinical decision making, improved patient satisfaction and decreased costs.

VIVIAN’S CONTINUITY OF CARE

In our earlier example of Vivian, HIE use could make it easier for hospital staff to see her allergies immediately. Likewise, HIE use could make Vivian’s transition of care back to the SNF one that preserves her safety by having good visibility into the medications Vivian is taking, and the medical tests she had done during her hospital stay. This exchange of data using the CCD is certainly not complete, but this information will help to protect Vivian from exposure to potentially life-threatening allergens, allow her medication reconciliation to include any new regimen from the hospital, and allow members of the care team to be reminded that Vivian had a recent hip fracture, is recovering from pneumonia, all while managing diabetes. HIE is the catalyst for allowing Vivian to maintain continuity of care, in a more efficient and effective way through her care transitions.

Best practices and everyday use of HIE are still evolving. It is imperative to continue to evaluate how best to promote continuity of care in LTPAC settings. Going forward, continuity of care will rely on health information exchange to enable quality for older adults in long term care settings.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I want to thank Ms. Jennifer Staley for her assistance in the literature searches for this paper. JHIM

Rebecca A. Meehan is an Assistant Professor of Health Informatics in the School of Library and Information Science at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. She earned a doctorate in gerontology and medical sociology from Case Western Reserve University. Having worked as an applied social scientist in healthcare settings, and as a senior user experience researcher for the software industry, she now teaches usability and human factors in health informatics and health information systems at Kent State University.

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