For organizations hoping to draw out savings from value-based care, added administrative burdens might be a source of hesitation. However, some operators are successfully turning to technology offerings that maximize reimbursement, pinpoint essential data, and include platforms already used by referral partners and managed care organizations (MAOs).

AI programs can help “tease out” some of the data needed to satisfy MAOs and approve length of stay, and more quickly see what’s actionable at the start of each day, said Ignite Medical Resorts Chief Clinical Officer John McFarlane.

And technology systems lauded by referring hospitals is a good place to start, said McFarlane, with remote technology partners that are able to go into a nursing home operator’s electronic medical records (EMRs) and look at crucial data, like vital signs and lab results. 

These remote technology partners are more like “silent partners,” acting as a go-between with nursing home operators and hospital systems, while also working to parse through important data in EMRs, McFarlane added. For example, if there’s a crucial change in a resident’s condition that needs a timely response, remote partners act as a safety net.

And this remote monitoring of EMRs is just the start.

Technology that gets operators and referral partners to show their value to MAOs collectively will be a big play in the years to come, added Dr. Robert Russell, chief medical officer with Majestic Care in Indiana. Meanwhile, platforms that can adapt to up and coming value-based care programs are another source of efficiencies, said Dr. Taimur Mirza, chief medical officer with New York-based ArchCare.

Vetting tech platforms for workflow

Technology already plays a huge role in supporting operators seeking to meet quality measures for Medicare Advantage plans, said McFarlane. As the industry looks to the future, tech systems need to be vetted well on the front end and tested for efficiency and benefits that these systems are driving forward.

The experts said that it’s easy for apps to get underutilized in an environment where staff face many burdens, and learning to work with new technology just adds to the workload. Floor staff will likely view more tech platforms as just another cumbersome hurdle to deal with, said Russell, even as staff contends with administrative setbacks from MA contracts themselves.

“There are some nice and very sophisticated tech offerings that we now are finally seeing in this space, but they are not very integrated into what the true work flow is and what the day-to-day challenges are for our staff,” said Russell.

When talking about pilot programs with technology companies, Russell said Majestic needs easy tech, efficient platforms that don’t create a lot of downtime for staff and are easy to implement, versus being another burden.

Operators need to think about cyber security too when choosing tech platforms, regardless of what their main use would be, said Mirza. ArchCare’s chief investment officer is focused on the cybersecurity aspect when choosing platforms.

“What happened to Change Healthcare was not that long ago,” said Mirza. “The dust hasn’t settled yet on how fast these technologies are developing, so we’re going to wait to see.”

Narrowing down VBC-focused tech

Illinois-based Ignite has cast a wide net when it comes to choosing technology platforms, and selecting the right ones was a huge undertaking for the team last year, McFarlane noted. The organization settled on a few different AI programs that help with documentation; they’re still trying to narrow down which of these platforms will be the one they stick with and roll out in all of their facilities. 

Remote patient monitoring is one of the tools Ignite has been testing out in its facilities but hasn’t picked a “winner” software yet.

ArchCare is much the same, with a wait-and-see approach on emerging technology and who will come out on top in terms of safety and efficiency. 

Safety and efficiency are big drivers for using tech platforms, which in turn maximize reimbursement for multiple programs, not just Medicare Advantage, he said.