NJHIMSS Presents: Virtual Care in New Jersey – Where Are We Now?

This May, we were joined by providers, sponsors and our members for insightful discussions on today’s dynamic healthcare landscape at the New Jersey Hospital Association.

We welcomed almost 200 members from the NJHIMSS chapter to participate in a day filled with networking, exciting panels, keynote presentations and roundtable discussions. Our chapter had the opportunity to gain insights into the latest trends that are shaping virtual healthcare in New Jersey along with what programs, strategies, roadblocks, policies and technologies need consideration.

Skilled Nursing Facility (“SNF”) at Home Versus Hospital at Home: Are They Different?

Did you know that 45% of Medicare patients require PAC services? Wouldn’t everyone wish that this care would occur, for either themselves or their loved ones, within the comfort of their own home? Needless to say, healthcare provided in the home is one of many directions that our industry is headed. To speak to that trend and for the first session of the day we welcomed Jennifer D'Angelo, Chief Operating Officer & Executive VP of the New Jersey Innovation Institute, and Robert Latz, CIO at Trinity Rehabilitation Services to explore the differences between emerging “care at home” models.

To begin, Jennifer and Robert covered key highlights of Home Hospital, Home SNF and Advanced Home Health programs. Within that introduction they covered what might make the most sense for certain patients depending on the level of care that they require and eligibility. Jennifer and Robert then took our audience through which technology solutions should be included in strategies to improve communication and collaboration as well as overall success. Lastly, we learned which regulatory changes need to come into play in order for greater success in New Jersey.

CIO Panel - Applied Virtual Care Digital Innovation, Stories & Lessons Learned

After a small break and a visit over to the vendor hall, we were joined by John Donnelly of InterPro Solutions, Tom Gordon of Virtua Health, Paul Contino of University Hospital and Jordan Tannenbaum of St. Peter’s University Hospital. Their panel discussion covered the power of virtual care within the healthcare industry over the past few years and how it’s applied in the individual organizations today . Tom Gordon indicated how important it was for both patients and staff to maintain a level of digital literacy – Virtua has recently piloted an EICU program which was a very timely topic for our day’s subject matter to learn about the people, processes and technologies involved. Our leaders also covered virtual nursing to touch on its possibilities while also addressing the challenge in making sure patients (and providers!) are comfortable. Digital Literacy matters!

Our CIO’s introduced where they envision the “future of healthcare” in New Jersey and what they’re excited to see come forth, along with what current challenges we need to overcome to propel that future forward. Garnering Clinical and Operational buy-in as the first step was agreed upon by Tom, Paul and Jordan – our audience were given great perspectives on lessons learned in the daily life of our Healthcare IT leaders.

CMIO Panel - Transforming Provider Burden & Patient Care Through Technology

After a wonderful lunch break, we were joined by moderator David Adinaro, Principal of Gryphon Medical, and panelists Dr. Snehal Gandhi at Cooper Health and Dr. Aarti Ravikumar at Atlantic Health to discuss how virtual care solutions continue to shape the healthcare landscape from a clinician’s perspective. Dr. Gandhi and Dr. Ravikumar discussed how workflow integration was important to deliver patient care effectively while also avoiding “alert fatigue”. They also touched on artificial intelligence and how it will continue to have a huge impact in the healthcare field throughout the next 10 years.

Our Chief Medical Information Officer’s touched on burnout and how technology can help with task reduction, note summation and more. We learned how local organizations have implemented AI technology to answer tier one questions, ultimately reducing call-in questions. There was also agreement between Dr. Gandhi and Dr. Ravikumar in how the fast-tracking of Telehealth appointments and services have had positive outcomes in healthcare, such as reduced “no-show” with scheduled appointments.

The Continuing Importance of Balancing Patient Privacy with Evolving Health IT

For the last session of the day, we were joined by Helen Oscislawski, Esq., who delivered a keynote about the importance of balancing the adoption of health information technology with privacy concerns. Helen addressed the advancement of technology and its impact on health information exchange. She also discussed how recent legal privacy changes will significantly affect health information exchange in the coming year and what organizations need to keep in mind. She ended the session by stressing the importance of considering privacy and consent when adopting new technologies for patients.

We want to give a special thank you to the following sponsors: CDW Healthcare, CSI Healthcare IT, Etherfax, Salesforce, and VNB Health Solutions.

Additionally, we want to thank our members and all the vendors for supporting this event and look forward to seeing you in October at the 17th annual NJDVHIMSS Fall Conference!