The expansion of health care to include long-term services and supports will continue as technology improves coordination and communication, a UMass Medical School expert told HealthLeaders Media.
“The awareness of other people who can support health has expanded beyond the doctor in the hospital to nursing facilities and home health now. It will continue to expand to all other providers in the community as time goes on and technology improves,” said Marybeth McCaffrey, JD, a principal in the Center for Health Law and Economics, a unit within UMass Medical School’s Commonwealth Medicine division.
“The advances are just beginning and are related to transitions of care, documentation, and transfers between facilities. Then there’s mobile health improvements, where providers are working to leverage information people are collecting in the home,” McCaffrey told HealthLeaders Media.
Changes in Medicare reimbursement rules, new payment models and advances in technology are driving medical services from hospitals to the community, resulting in home care opportunities for hospitals, according to the article.