While advances in healthcare IT — from telemedicine to wireless devices to electronic medical records — are touted regularly, there the level of IT presence in nursing homes is considered lagging, according to research out of the University of Missouri.
There’s pressure on the healthcare industry to boost tech sophistication at nursing homes in light of an Institute of Medicine report that outlines what really should be in place by 2010.
“These initial studies reveal that nursing home administrators have a long way to go before they achieve the goals suggested by the IOM report,” said Greg Alexander, professor in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing, in a statement. “The development of IT profiles is a necessary first step toward benchmarking the best practices of IT use across nursing homes in the United States. The next step is to continue this study in other Midwest states and, eventually, in every state.”
