San Diego Geriatric Care Management is being taken to new levels with the advent of telemedicine and new care models fueled by health information technology. With healthcare reform driven legislation and maturing technologies, personal health information is coming back home.
There is a nationwide osmotic shift of health information from the hospitals and larger health centers out through electronic health records (EHR’s), health information exchanges (HIE’s), and personal health records (PHR’s), so that “patient centered medical homes” can become a reality. Patients and families also will have more access to and control of their own vital health information. That is no small change in particular for the elder population facing multiple chronic illnesses.
By assisting the patient and family in setting up personal health records, exporting vital signs and other health information critical to primary care physicians and coordinating care with the entire health care team, geriatric care managers are leaders in the proactive management of chronic illness.
This convergence of legislation, technology and rising consumer demand along with the sheer numbers of people aging at home will no doubt completely reset home care expectations. It’s about time.
By this blending of medical and non-medical models of home care, the disconnect where poorly managed chronic illness has ravaged our elders, will have been largely eliminated.
Geriatric care managers, telemedicine and new health information technologies will have no small part to play in these changes.
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