Telehealth & Technology Sessions

Telehealth & Technology, Quality & Outcomes, Hospice

Point of Care Technology: The Key to Outcome Improvement

Agencies are feeling pressure to invest in systems that can help them achieve their organizational goals but need options that are affordable and cost-effective. Fortunately, point of care systems are becoming more sophisticated in terms of functionality that create an environment for improved outcomes with integrated disease management programs, care planning and reporting. Systems today can provide greater accountability and inter-disciplinary communications that ensure the team is working together to improve care as the presenters will show.

Objectives:

• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of current hardware and wireless technology choices for use by the clinical field staff.
• Formulate a strategy for evaluating their agency's point of care needs, determining if their system meets those needs and what options are available now.
• Design, implement and measure a clinical outcomes improvement plan by more effectively utilizing point of care systems available today.

Faculty: Robin Finkelstein, Marketing Director, Homecare Homebase, Dallas , TX; Susan Freeman, RN and IT Director, Director of Information Technology, Alacare Home Health and Hospice, Birmingham, AL; April Anthony, CPA, Chief Executive Officer, Advanced Homecare Management Inc, Dallas, TX;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending);

Quality & Outcomes, Clinical & Disease Management, Telehealth & Technology

How to Build a Successful Wound Care Specialist Program

Treatment of wounds and ulcers, particularly in a geriatric population, is a highly specialized field. Yet home care agencies seeking to utilize wound care consultation nurses historically faced significant resource constraints. The advent of digital photography has lessened these resource constraints, as visual assessment of wounds can take place over a large catchment area. Participants will learn how to operationalize wound care consultations as part of routine care using digital photography and the impact wound care consultations can have on OASIS outcomes.

Objectives:

• Identify how to craft a wound care consultation protocol.
• Explain the impact of wound care quality on publicly reported measures and for Pay for Performance.
• Discuss the impact on OASIS wound outcomes of a wound consultation program.

Faculty: Marilyn Hecker, BSN, MSNAdmin, MAEd, Vice President, Staff Development, Metropolitan Jewish Health System, Brooklyn, NY; Eliot Fishman, Ph.D., Vice President, Research and Policy, Metropolitan Jewish Health System, Brooklyn, NY;

Course Level: Novice; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending);

Quality & Outcomes, Clinical & Disease Management, Telehealth & Technology

Guaranteed or Your Money BackHow to Reduce Rehospitalization

In this session you will learn about a system guaranteed to reduce rehospitalization and emergent care. Audit tools, risk assessments, telehealth protocols, best practices, TelephonicVisits SM/Care Calls components, and team communication methodologies will be presented that have proven to produce dramatic results in improving these critical outcomes for one home care company. All home care providers are focused on improving acute care hospitalization and emergent care outcomes. As pay for performance and disease management loom closer, that focus becomes vital to survival in tomorrow's home care environment.

Objectives:

• Discuss and identify national and organizational goals for reduction of acute care hospitalization.
• Describe specific areas of focus common to most home health agencies.
• Identify best practices to achieve best outcomes.

Faculty: Lynda Laff, BSN, Chief Operating Officer, Island Health Care, Inc., Savannah, GA; Ellen Bolch, MSN, MHA, President & CEO, THA Services and Island Health Care, Inc., Savannah, GA;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending);

Marketing & Business Development, Telehealth & Technology

Marketing Telehealth: Top 10 Practices Revealed!

An emerging technology, telehealth is increasingly being evaluated and implemented by home care providers as a tool to increase revenue, decrease costs, and improve patient outcomes. While there are many dimensions to implementing a telehealth program successfully, marketing strategy is critical. Attendees will learn specific strategies that will help them grow patient referrals, gain new referral relationships, generate positive PR in their communities, and increase the return on investment.

Objectives:

• Describe the context for telehealth marketing.
• Cite the top 10 methods for marketing telehealth.
• Discuss a VNS case study to market telehealth to private payors.

Faculty: Heather Rooney, President, H2 Marketing, Seattle, WA; Patricia Mulhern, RN, MN, Vice President, Patient Services, Visiting Nurse Services of the Northwest, Mountlake Terrace, WA;

Course Level: Advanced; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending);

Telehealth & Technology, Quality & Outcomes

Incorporating Telehealth into Standard Clinical Practices

Telehealth is gaining prominence as a highly practical and economic solution to overseeing a growing population with fewer and fewer nurses. Two home health agencies, through lessons learned, barriers, and best practices, will demonstrate how telehealth can be successfully incorporated into the best nursing practices. Proven telehealth models will be discussed in detail, including patient selection, staffing, costs, level of effort, implementation, training, return on investment, and improved outcomes.

Objectives:

• Identify best practices for implementing a telehealth program.
• Formulate a return on investment equation for a telehealth program.
• Recognize the ways in which telehealth improves quality of care and patient outcomes.

Faculty: Gina Petersen, RN, MSN, CPHQ , Chief Information Officer, Neighborhood Health Agencies, Inc., West Chester, PA; Amy Peck, RN, Clinical Project Manager, McKesson, Springfield, MO; Karen Grant, RN, MSN, CPHQ, Director of QI / Staff Education, Valley Home Care, Inc., Paramus, NJ; Ellen McAndris, RN, MPA, CNA,C, Director Professional / Clinical Services, Valley Home Care, Inc., Paramus, NJ;

Course Level: Novice; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending);

Telehealth & Technology, Hospice

Implementing Technology to Improve Patient Care in Hospice

This session will detail the successful transition from a paper-based management system to an electronic technology solution. Saint John's installed a home care software package that improved patient quality of care while enhancing organizational and financial performance. Increasing access to critical patient data, this system allows home care and hospice workers to capture and integrate data in real-time. The presenter will outline needed components of a balanced program, and provide an outline for ensuring that technology enhancements equal better patient care.

Objectives:

• Identify the challenges hospices face transitioning from a paper-based management system to an electronic solution.
• Describe how hospices automated their management systems to improve operations and overall patient care under a case study.
• Illustrate how hospice patient care is positively affected after installing an electronic home care system.

Faculty: Kim Jule, M.H.A., Executive Director, St. John's Hospice of Indiana, Anderson, IN;

Course Level: Advanced; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Clinical & Disease Management, Telehealth & Technology

How to Grow your Business Using Advanced Technology of Monochromatic Infrared Photo Energy

The presenting agency is one of the first organizations to introduce Mono-chromatic Infrared Photo Therapy (MIRE) - Anodyne* Therapy to the Colorado Front Range. Being on the cutting edge of technology has given them an edge by providing a unique treatment modality that has produced excellent outcomes in wound healing, peripheral neuropathy, pain management, and other conditions. This presentation will outline the science behind the therapy, implementation of the program, patient and financial outcomes, and road blocks to success.*not paid by Medicare

Objectives:

• Explain the mechanism of action for nitric oxide.
• Cite the modality use and outcomes of MIRE related to treatment of peripheral neuropathy, wounds,pain, edema, inflammation, and osteoblastic proliferation.
• Identify the benefits and challenges of implementing a MIRE program in your home care agency.

Faculty: Sonya Neumann, RN, BSN, Agency Administrator, Physicians Home Health Care, Colorado Springs, CO; Sharon Burt, RN, BSN, CWOCN, Wound Program Coordinator, Physicians Home Health Care, Colorado Springs, CO;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending);

Leadership, Telehealth & Technology, Management & Human Resources, Hospice

Don't Pull Your Hair Out: Implementing Technology and Process Change

Successful introduction of new technology in the operation of a home care organization is dependent upon three key factors. The organization must apply the principles of change management, address the organizational culture change required by the technology initiatives, and plan an implementation that addresses both the technology and the process changes throughout the organization. In this presentation, home care leaders intending to implement major change initiatives, particularly those involving information technologies, will learn basic change management principles, and key elements of the model used by the presenter to successfully apply these principles.

Objectives:

• Identify change management principles that impact technology application in a home care setting.
• Describe and discuss the activities that are essential to preparing an agency's culture for large-scale technology implementation.
• Provide a case study and discuss the project management approach that resulted in a successful technology implementation.

Faculty: Linda Scott, MSHA, RN, BSN, General Manager, Professional Healthcare Resources, Inc., Annandale, VA; Kate Jones, MSN, Principal, Health Care and Human Resources, MSC Consulting, Inc., Laurel, MD; Wanda Strickland, BSN, CHPN, HCS-D, COS-C, Director of Performance Improvement Program Development, Professional Healthcare Resources, Inc., Annandale, VA;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Telehealth & Technology, Leadership

EMR/EHR: A Case Study for Implementation/EHR: An Overview of the HL7 Specification

Citizens Memorial Healthcare, named the Organizational Davies Award Recipient for 2006 by HIMSS and the Most Wired Small and Rural Hospitals and Most Wireless Hospital lists in 2005, has created one electronic medical record (EMR) that crosses the continuum of care, including home care, hospital, long term care and physician offices.Topics include the background and planning for the EMR, the functionality of the EMR, and the value the EMR brings to patient care.This session will also provide an introduction to the HL7 draft Electronic Health Record (EHR) standard, its functional specifications, and how it might be applicable to a home care agency.

Objectives:

• Formulate an implementation strategy for an EMR system.
• Recognize the value that an integrated EMR brings to patient care.
• Explain how the HL7 EHR functional and content standards apply to home care agencies.

Faculty: Denni McColm, Chief Information Officer, Citizens Memorial Healthcare, Bolivar, MO; Valerie Noblitt, RN, BC, Clinical Manager, Citizens Memorial Healthcare, Bolivar, MO; Rob Swenson, BS, CCP, Sr. Solution Designer, Cerner BeyondNow, Overland Park, KS; Peter Kress, Vice President & Chief Information Officer, ACTS Retirement-Life Communities, Inc., West Point, PA;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Telehealth & Technology, Leadership, Hospice

Push to Paperless: A 5 Year Project

This program will discuss the five year implementation process of an electronic medical record in a freestanding, non profit, home care and hospice. This will include the administrative, clinical, and business office operations of a paperless model and the impact on efficiencies, performance improvement, and pay for performance. The content will include the selection of the system, implementation and training of the staff, and deployment of technologies including point of service, intake, electronic verification and authorization for services, physician web portal, scheduling, supply management on line, telephony, telemedicine, general ledger, Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance billing, electronic remittance advice, HIPAA auditing, and payroll.

Objectives:

• Identify process for developing a strategic plan to automate home care processes.
• Identify the role of electronic health records in performance improvement.
• Express the business advantages of a paperless model.

Faculty: Carol Conrad, RN, BSN, MEd, Manager of Quality Improvement, Neighborhood Health Agencies, West Chester, PA; Andrea Devoti, MSN, MBA, RN, Vice President/Chief Operating Officer, Neighborhood Health Agencies, West Chester, PA; David Berman, CPA, Principal, Simione Consultants, LLC, Hamden , CT;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Telehealth & Technology

E-Learning: A New Frontier for Providers of Care in the Home

How an industry chooses to use available technology defines their growth. On-line learning has made a notable impact in the academic, corporate and consumer arenas. The advantages of enlisting e-learning to train and orient home care staff include: reduced cost, convenient consistency and effective adult learning.

Objectives:

• Discuss the history of e-learning and the changes on-line learning has made in academic, corporate and consumer markets.
• List the advantages of using e-learning to educate home care staff and how on-line learning can benefit your agency.
• Identify current and future availability of on-line learning for providers of care in the home.

Faculty: Deborah Scholl, RNC, BSN, MSM, Managing Director of On-Line Learning , The Corridor Group, Inc., Overland Park, KS; Gloria Brooks, MPA, Chief Operating Officer, VNA of Southeast Michigan, Oak Park, MI;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending);

Telehealth & Technology, Management & Human Resources

Virtual Classrooms and Virtual Patients: Embracing New Technology in Home Care

This interactive workshop will allow the participant to experience first hand two of the latest, cutting-edge technologies being used at VNA Care Network, the nation's second largest freestanding VNA. The workshop will showcase: (1) a web-based, virtual classroom using multi-media technology to provide home health orientation, in-servicing, and continuing education; and (2) a computerized patient simulator, a virtual patient, to validate competency and critical thinking in the home health industry. This workshop will allow participants to identify new technologies to increase productivity, improve quality, promote cost efficiencies and support nursing recruitment and retention.

Objectives:

• Identify technologies that can be integrated into home health agencies to increase productivity, improve quality, reduce costs, and support staffing.
• Describe the use of a web-based, virtual classroom using multi-media methods to provide home health orientation, inservicing, and continuing education.
• Discuss the use of a computerized patient simulator, a virtual patient, in the home health industry.

Faculty: Scott Carignan, BS, RN,BC, Education Coordinator / Project Director, VNA Care Network, Southborough, MA; Linda Baker, MSN, MBA, RN, CNAA, BC, Director of Clinical Education, Southborough, MA;

Course Level: Advanced; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Telehealth & Technology, Clinical & Disease Management

Preparing to Implement Clinical Documentation with Standardized Terminology

Implementing a documentation system with standardized terminology requires careful planning and strategies that accommodate education, application and acceptance of this "new" language and methodology. Attendees will learn how to create an education strategy and materials that will meet the needs of everyone on the staff, how to achieve staff acceptance and illustrate the benefits of standardization in terms of patient outcomes and agency performance, the importance of a multidisciplinary implementation team, and how to establish a pilot program to roll out the documentation system effectively.

Objectives:

• Identify benefits of adopting the use of a standardized clinical documentation system.
• Describe the system requirements to support a successful transition and timeline for adopting a standardized documentation system.
• Discuss the steps necessary to prepare and support your staff in a successful implementation of a standardized clinical documentation system.

Faculty: Kate O'Neil, MBA, BSN, Chief Operating Officer, VNA of Boston, Charlestown, MA; Karen Martin, RN, MSN, FAAN, Health Care Consultant, Martin Associates, Omaha, NE; Karen Utterback, RN, MSN, CHCE, Vice President of Clinical Strategies, McKesson, Springfield, MO;

Course Level: Advanced; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending);

Management & Human Resources, Telehealth & Technology, Hospice

E-learning's Future in Your Agency

This session will focus on the paradigm shift needed to incorporate technology, specifically e-learning courses, into the home health care and hospice industries. As with any significant change in business process, adding e-learning to an agency's educational strategy will be met with some resistance. Using Minnesota Home Care Association and its member agencies as case studies, the group will explore best practices for implementing and successfully using e-learning in their agencies. Each participant will also have the opportunity to build their own action plan to add e-learning to their educational offerings.

Objectives:

• Overcome barriers to implementing e-learning.
• Discuss best practices to implementing e-learning.
• Design a plan to incorporate e-learning into your educational strategy.

Faculty: Sara Bunge, M. Ed., Workforce Development Manager, Rochester Community & Technical College, Rochester, MN; Neil Johnson, RN, Executive Director, Minnesota Home Care Association, St. Paul, MN;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Private Pay, Telehealth & Technology

Establish a Telehealth Monitoring Program for Your Private Pay Population

Presenters will discuss how they performed a community needs assessment and created a development plan to establish this program. We decided to use the Health Buddy for our private pay model. The Health Buddy is a simple, user-friendly, readily visible, telehealth communication device that allows interaction between a client and a health care provider in an individual's home. Presenters will identify key lessons learned about developing and maintaining a private pay telehealth program such as identifying your appropriate service population; private pay population referrals and resources; how to sell the program as a healthy aging experience; and relationship building with clients, caregivers, and referral sources.

Objectives:

• Discuss how to develop a private pay telehealth program.
• Discuss how to deliver a health care service to both clients and caregivers.
• Identify key lessons learned about developing and maintaining a private pay telehealth program.

Faculty: Bridget Gallagher, MSN, GNP, Senior Vice President, Jewish Home & Hospital Lifecare System, New York, NY; Norma Otero, BSN, Telehealth Nurse, Jewish Home & Hospital Lifecare System, Bronx, NY;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);