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Hilltop Hosts Symposium on Integrated Electronic Health Records

The Hilltop Institute is pleased to announce the success of its sixth invitational symposium, Information Follows the Person: Advancing LTSS Integrated Electronic Records, which convened on June 14, 2012.

Electronic health record research and development, as well as government and private funding for both, is ubiquitous. Not so well-attended is the need to modernize, standardize, and integrate non-medical services records in the long-term services and supports (LTSS) sector. LTSS serve multiple populations, including frail older adults and individuals with physical, emotional, cognitive, and psychiatric disabilities.

At the symposium, national experts examined the status of LTSS integrated record systems, prospects for future development, and ways to ensure that this new source of information is available to those who need it most.

The symposium was attended by people from across the nation with an interest in this issue, ranging from Maryland state and local/regional agency officials to representatives from federal agencies, national foundations, national associations/organizations, think tanks/research organizations, providers/health plans, information technology organizations, and universities.

The day was divided into four sessions and highlighted by a keynote address, a luncheon address, and concluding reflections.

Janhavi Kirtane, MBA, Director of Clinical Transformation, Beacon Community Program at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), began the day with her keynote address: Technology, Innovation, and Accountability in Healthcare: Forging a Path for LTSS. In her presentation, she provided an update on the ONC and gave recommendations for successfully integrating LTSS records.

Peter Levin, PhD, Chief Technology Officer/Senior Advisor to the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, gave the luncheon presentation: The Get It Done Crowd. In his presentation, he stressed how difficult (if not impossible) it is for people to obtain their complete medical records and discussed the development of some solutions, including downloadable apps and Blue Button technology.

William F. Benson, Managing Principal of Health Benefits ABCs, wrapped up the day with his reflections. In this discussion, he revisited some of the topics that arose throughout the day, including the need for more emphasis on LTSS and less on creating information silos.

To learn more about the speakers, view the presentation, and see the agenda, go to http://www.hilltopinstitute.org/Symposium/2012Symposium.cfm.

 

 

 

 

The Hilltop Institute at UMBC is a non-partisan health research organization—with an expertise in Medicaid and in improving publicly financed health care systems—dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of vulnerable populations. Hilltop conducts research, analysis, and evaluations on behalf of government agencies, foundations, and nonprofit organizations at the national, state, and local levels. Hilltop is committed to addressing complex issues through informed, objective, and innovative research and analysis.

 
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