When it comes to communicating electronically with external clinical partners, most nursing homes are not yet up to speed, according to a survey by investigators at the Columbia School of Nursing. This lag may affect resident care, researchers say.
Their study examined the level of health information technology (HIT) adoption across 719 US skilled nursing facilities using federal data. Participants rated their HIT maturity on nine subscales, including HIT capabilities, extent of HIT use and degree of HIT integration in resident care, clinical support and administrative activities. Each facility’s HIT maturity stage was rated from 0 (no HIT) to 6 (residents or their caregivers could use the system to generate clinical data and drive self-management).
More than two-thirds (68%) of the facilities were not able to communicate electronically with staff from other facilities, including outside clinics, labs or pharmacies, according to survey results. Researchers also found HIT adoption levels were likely to be higher in larger nursing homes. The number of certified beds and facility location were associated with HIT maturity.
They theorized that the structural disparities may be due to inadequate infrastructure, unavailability of a knowledgeable workforce and a lack of financial resources.
“This lack of connectivity can result in reduced levels of electronic data sharing, leading to deficiencies in care delivery, substandard care coordination activities and poorer resident outcomes,” researchers noted in JMIR Aging, where they encouraged national leaders to incentivize HIT adoption.
“It is crucial that we begin to consistently identify a means to address these disparities, first by increasing transparency and public reporting about the trends in nursing home HIT maturity in the United States, followed by implementing national policies to level these deficits,” the research team concluded. n
From the November 2022 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
