Incorporation of Information Technology into Assisted Health Care

Incorporation of Information Technology into Assisted Health Care: An Empirical Study Michelle Delmonico and Bruce White

Overview IS/IT pervades almost everything In healthcare, IT does ‘everything’ from electronic health records to computer guided surgery. This paper investigates technology adoption in assisted living healthcare facilities.

The authors The main author is Michelle (Merrill) Delmonico. At the time this was written, Michelle was an MBA student at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT. Michelle has worked in healthcare. The secondary author is Bruce White, Professor of Information Systems Management at Quinnipiac University. Michelle started this study as an independent study at Quinnipiac

The study The authors developed a questionnaire that was sent to over 100 assisted living facilities in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. The questionnaire was distributed by paper / standard mail

The study continued We found early on that assisted living facilities might be in the ‘backwater’ of IT adoption and use. Where a similar survey of acute care hospitals was distributed using ‘Survey. Monkey’, we found few assisted living facilities with websites or with easily findable e-mail addresses. Thus, the paper surveys were distributed addressed to ‘administrator’

Questionnaire The questionnaire had 15 questions. Some questions: � Does your facility utilize electronic health records? � What types of monitoring and sensor devices are utilized? � Do residents have wireless emergency response devices? � Does your facility have any robotic assistance

Questions - continued Does your facility have any web based software programs to enable providers, caregivers and/or family members to monitor residents? How important is adapting new or advanced technology to your facility? How frequently is the pursuit of advanced or new technologies discussed at board/management facility meetings?

Questions - continued Does your facility have a strategic plan for implementing advanced or new technologies to improve resident care? For how long has your facility planned and budgeted financial resources for the purchase of advanced or new technologies? What do you perceive to be the biggest barriers in implementing aging service Technologies?

Questions - continued What strategies have you employed to overcome the barriers to implementing aging service technologies? Are there any questions / suggestions / concerns about implementing various technologies into assisted living facilities?

Our Results Electronic Health Records (EHR) 4. 8 9. 5 Yes No Considering 85. 7

Use of Sensing Devices 24 Yes No 76

Types of Electronic Monitoring 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Motion Sensors Electronic Tracking Prescription Reminders Anti-wandering doors Anti-Fall

Wireless Response Buttons 24 Yes No 76

Budgeting for Technology 24 38 Never Less than 1 year 1 to 2 years 3 to 5 years 14 More than 5 19 5

Barriers to Implementing Technology 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Cost User Unfriendly Facility Infrastructure Lack of Training Provider Resistance ALL of the above

Implementation Strategies 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 None Clinical Leader Administrative Leader Training after adoption Employee Participation

Summary Positive: �High adoption rate of various sensors Anti-wandering doors Wireless devices (pendants, etc. )

Negatives 87% have not looked at electronic health records 76% do not have strategic plans for implementing technology 38% have NEVER budgeted for information technologies

As expected 71% say ‘cost’ is the biggest barrier to bringing technology solutions in to assisted living facilities 52% have ‘anti-wandering’ doors (Many of these results are in general agreement with other studies, include CAST – the Center for Aging Services Technologies)

Observations This was an initial study We selected two eastern states We had a fairly low response rate We found it hard to get the surveys to the right persons and to have them fill it out We think this does establish an early ‘baseline’ and that assisted living facilities will continue to adopt technologies as the ‘baby boomers’ need care.

Directions We would like to try this again – with more states and more respondents We would also like to interview technology adoption leaders in assisted living facilities for a ‘qualitative’ view of the information

Questions, Comments, Suggestions?

Thank you!!!