Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) reported significant deficiencies in the completeness, timeliness, and usability of patient data sharing from hospitals to SNFs, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. This negatively impacts transitions of care.
SNFs serve patients that often have high-risk or complex chronic conditions and care needs, resulting in frequent transitions between home, acute, post-acute, and long-term care settings. Thus, these transitions require care coordination between providers— a collaboration that becomes easier with efficient EHR use, health data exchange, and interoperability.
However, the current state of patient data sharing is relatively unknown even though there’s been over a decade of investment in health IT infrastructure and new incentives to promote coordination between hospitals and SNFs.
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I don’t think there is a lack of patient data when a skilled nursing facility can obtain a 4-year all encounters health history on a Medicare patient in about 5 minutes. Instead skilled nursing facilities are not taking advantage of technology to solve the health history problem.
Good point, Kristine!