PointClickCare, makers of a cloud-based suite of applications designed for long-term post acute care (LTPAC), recently held its annual user conference (PointClickCare SUMMIT) in sunny Orlando, Florida. The conference quite literally shone a light on the LTPAC world – a world that is often overlooked by those of us that focus on the acute care side of healthcare. It was an eye-opening experience.
This year’s SUMMIT was the largest in the company’s history, attracting over 1,800 attendees from skilled nursing providers, senior living facilities, home health agencies and Continuing Care Retirement Communities. Over the three days of SUMMIT I managed to speak to about 100 attendees and every one of them had nothing but praise for PointClickCare.
“I couldn’t imagine doing my work without PointClickCare. I wouldn’t even know where to start if I had to use paper.”
“I don’t want to go back to the days before we had PointClickCare. We had so much paperwork back then and I used to spend an hour or two after my shift just documenting. Now I don’t have to. I track everything in the system as I go.”
“PointClickCare lets us focus more on the people in our care. We have the ability to do things that would have been impossible if we weren’t on an electronic system. We’re even starting to share data with some of our community partners.”
Contrary to what many believe, not every skilled nursing provider and senior living facility operates with clipboards and fax machines. “That’s one of the biggest misconceptions that people have of the LTPAC market,” says Dave Wessinger, Co-Founder and CTO at PointClickCare. “Almost everyone assumes that LTPAC organizations use nothing but paper or a terrible self-built electronic solution. The reality is that many have digitized their operations and are every bit as modern as their acute care peers.”
According to a recent Black Book survey, 19 percent of LTPAC providers have now adopted some form of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. In 2016, Black Book found the adoption rate was 15 percent. The Office of the National Coordinator recently published a data brief that showed adoption of EHRs by Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) had reached 64% in 2016.
Although these numbers are low compared to the +90% EHR adoption rate by US hospitals, it does indicate that there are many pioneering LTPAC providers that have jumped into the digital world.
“It’s fun to be asked by our clients to work with their acute care partners,” explains BJ Boyle, Director of Product Management at PointClickCare. “First of all, they are surprised that a company like PointClickCare even exists. They are even more surprised when we work with them to exchange health information via CCD.”
Boyle’s statement was one of many during SUMMIT that opened my eyes to the innovative technology ecosystem that exists in LTPAC. Further proof came from the SUMMIT exhibit hall where no less than 72 partners had booths set up.
Among the exhibitors were several that focus exclusively on the LTPAC market:
- Playmaker. A CRM/Sales solution for post-acute care.
- Hymark. A technical consultancy that helps LTPAC organizations implement and optimize PointClickCare.
- Careserv. A LTPAC cloud-hosting and managed services provider.
And some with specialized LTPAC offerings:
- Care.ly. An app that helps families coordinate the care of their elderly loved ones with senior care facilities.
- McBee Associates. Financial and revenue cycle consultants that help LTPAC organizations.
I came away from SUMMIT with a newfound respect for the people that work in LTPAC. I also have a new appreciation for the innovative solutions being developed for LTPAC by companies like PointClickCare, Care.ly and Playmaker. This is a vibrant hidden world that is worth paying attention to.
Note: PointClickCare did cover travel expenses for Healthcare Scene to be able to attend the conference.