For Long-Term Care, Many HIE Miles To Go

Many of the nation’s largest long-term care providers are using electronic health records and providing their residents with Internet access, but few of them are sharing health information with outside entities, creating potential gaps in the care continuum for patients.

In a survey of the nation’s 94 largest not-for-profit senior living center networks, long-term care provider association LeadingAge and investment bank Ziegler found that 75 percent are using or installing EHRs, and 83 percent are digital point-of-care documentation systems in at least one of their communities.

At the same time, only about 30 percent of the long-term care centers surveyed are digitally sharing information with their residents’ other providers, and what they’re sharing varies — with some of the most important documents getting short shrift.