HHS: More LTC Facilities Should Adopt EHR Systems

The government is suggesting that long-term care facilities follow hospitals' example in adopting electronic health records. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 80% of eligible hospitals have already adopted EHR systems.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that the EHR systems help providers better coordinate care, which can improve patients' health and save money at the same time.

According to a March report from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, long-term care providers have not yet started adopting EHRs on a broad scale. Skilled nursing facilities are excluded from the Medicare incentives for adopting EHRs, but SNFs in some states are eligible for funding through the HITECH Act's Medicaid Nursing Home Grant program.

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