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133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition
December 10-14, 2005
Philadelphia, PA
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133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA |
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George Demiris, PhD1, Karen L. Courtney, RN, MSN2, Shari L. Riley, JD, MHA1, and Wilbert E. Meyer, MA FACHE2. (1) Department of Health Management and Informatics, University of Missouri-Columbia, 324 Clark Hall, Columbia, MO 65211, (573) 882-5772, DemirisG@health.missouri.edu, (2) Dept. of Health Management & Informatics, University of Missouri - Columbia, 324 Clark Hall, Columbia, MO 65211
Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), introduced by the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program within the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, provide 24-hour emergency care services for their rural communities with limited facilities (less than 15 acute care inpatient beds). With the CAH designation, these non-profit or public hospitals are eligible to receive reimbursement for Medicare patients on a reasonable cost basis rather than the prospective payment system.
In the seminal work, “Crossing the Quality Chasm”, the Institute of Medicine (2001), listed effective use of information technologies as a healthcare system redesign imperative. To identify CAH information technology (IT) needs and expectations, we conducted a Delphi study with seven Missouri CAH administrators (54% of 2003 CAHs). During the first phase, our focus group identified a series of possible IT application areas. In the second phase, we mailed a list of these items to the participants asking them to prioritize them. The applications with the highest ratings included: a portable telemedical unit for on-call physicians for screening emergency room admissions; a software platform that supports multiple formats for patient instructions and care plans; a “telemetry” station that captures vital signs; and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) for providers to access drug or patient information and to assist with point-of-care decisions.
A state-wide follow-up survey is currently underway to assess organizational needs and readiness of CAHs to adopt IT.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Information Technology, Rural Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.
The 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition (December 10-14, 2005) of APHA