Post-Acute Care

70th AHCA/NCAL Convention and Expo

PAC-5 - Collaboration and Virtual Care: The New Norm in LTC

Speaker(s)

• 

  Angela Johnson, PharmD, BCGP

  Senior Care Director of Clinical Operations and Pharmacy
  Avera eCARE Senior Care

  Disclosure: Avera Health/Avera eCARE: Employee (Status: Ongoing)
• 

  Michele Snyders, LCSW, ACHP-SW

  Social Worker
  Avera eCARE Senior Care

  Disclosure: Avera eCARE/ Aver Health: Employee (Status: Ongoing)
• 

  John Erpenbach, CNP

  Nurse Practitioner
  Avera eCARE Senior CARE

  Disclosure: Avera eCARE/ Avera Health: Employee (Status: Ongoing)

Long term care (LTC) is changing every day, and new challenges are always on the horizon. What does the future hold for the industry, and what solutions can help? Several innovative models are being tested to improve cost efficiency and quality, and sustain the workforce. One approach connects long term care facilities to a 24/7 multidisciplinary team of geriatric-led clinicians. Since 2012, one model, tested by CMMI and currently deployed in nearly 70 U.S. long term care facilities, has been supplying immediate access to geriatricians, social workers, pharmacists, and behavioral health specialists through two-way audio and video equipment. This presentation will explore how three different disciplines utilize virtual care through examples and outcomes of how this approach benefits facilities and LTC residents. Areas of focus will include licensed social workers and the importance of advanced care planning, leveraging geriatric-led pharmacists to assist with medication reconciliation, and the role of psychiatric nurse practitioners in working with behavioral health needs. This virtual care concept takes a multidisciplinary team of geriatric-led clinicians and extends this expertise to cover thousands of residents within several facilities. In a time when we’re seeing a shortage of clinicians, uncertain reimbursement, and lack of access to needed care, this approach reduces unnecessary hospitalizations and saves money; 90% of urgent care video encounters result in treatment in place.

Learning Objectives:

• Demonstrate how telemedicine can impact geriatric residents, skilled nursing facilities and providers by improving quality of care, reducing total costs of care and decreasing re-admissions.
• Describe how behavioral healthcare provided through telemedicine can improve a resident’s quality of life.
• Discuss the social work role in supporting advance care planning, facilitation of care goals and care transitions to ensure patient centered care.