2 technology-related action steps for long-term care providers

Larry Wolf, health information technology strategist with post-acute service provider Kindred Healthcare, recently shared with Long-Term Living two steps that those in long-term care can take to enable their facilities to use technology in the best ways possible for themselves and those they serve:

1. Talk with your acute-care partners.

“Learn with them,” Wolf says. “They’re going through transitions, and you should be at the table with them as they do.”

Whether you and your acute-care partners are joining forces in an accountable care organization or are continuing your associations as they always have been, “you have an existing relationship with those providers,” Wolf says. “Build on that existing relationship.”

2. Network with your peers.

“Peer-to-peer communication is really important,” Wolf says.

Identify your peers and discover what they are doing and how you can learn from their experiences to improve your processes, he adds. “What can you do collectively to further your understanding?”

Ask your peers about the technology vendors they use. Find out whether these vendors have a presence near you or whether they can support you virtually. “The best people to learn that from are your peers,” Wolf says.

See more of the interview with Larry Wolf here.

See other content by this author here.

Lois Bowers

Lois A. Bowers was senior editor of I Advance Senior Care / Long-Term Living from 2013-2015.