{"id":3050,"date":"2012-05-03T10:06:07","date_gmt":"2012-05-03T14:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.healthit.gov\/buzz-blog\/?p=3050"},"modified":"2025-07-16T15:15:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T15:15:34","slug":"long-term-post-acute-care-ltpac-related-ehr-adoption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/blog\/insights-updates\/long-term-post-acute-care-ltpac-related-ehr-adoption\/","title":{"rendered":"Long-Term and Post-Acute Care (LTPAC) Needs Related to EHR Adoption"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the population of the United States ages, the number of people receiving services in Long-Term and Post-Acute Care (LTPAC) facilities is expected to grow rapidly. LTPAC is characterized by a variety of settings, from complex care in long-term acute-care hospitals to supportive services in the community or home-based care. Compared to the general population, LTPAC patients typically have a wide range of conditions and more complex, longitudinal care needs.  Frequent transitions between acute, post-acute, and longer-term care settings are common. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By some accounts, it has been estimated that \u201cover a third of all Medicare patients discharged from acute hospitals receive LTPAC services (almost 80 percent are either discharged to skilled nursing facilities or sent home with home health services).\u201d 1<\/sup> Further, \u201c[a] significant portion\u2014almost one-quarter of Medicare beneficiaries\u2014discharged to a skilled nursing facility were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days.\u201d 2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LTPAC Providers and the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With the advent of the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs, electronic health record adoption by eligible providers has increased.  These important care partners can use health information technology (health IT) to share patient information and coordinate care with LTPAC providers under the EHR Incentive Programs to promote improvements in outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This highlights the importance of care coordination and the need for systems to support information capture, use, and exchange of relevant, timely care data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, in order to better understand the health IT needs of LTPAC providers for care delivery and to support transitions of care, ONC\u2019s Office of Policy and Planning will be convening a roundtable of LTPAC experts to engage in a discussion on these issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upcoming LTPAC Roundtable<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The LTPAC Roundtable will take place on May 3, 2012 and will include public- and private-sector representatives from LTPAC providers, professional associations, system vendors, consumer advocates, and representatives from related federal healthcare agencies and committees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The objectives of the roundtable are to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n