Hebrew SeniorLife Introduces New System to Help Patients, Families, and Clinicians Coordinate Care

CANTON, Mass. — Hebrew SeniorLife and MEDITECH have partnered to provide a new system that allows patients, families and caregivers to share information.

Hebrew SeniorLife recently implemented MEDITECH Expanse as part of its transformation strategy to consolidate four separate electronic health records and clinical systems. There is now one ecosystem for a more complete and integrated view of their elderly patients’ health, while also strengthening communication with families.  

According to Chief Information Officer Eric Rogers, the organization selected Expanse for its ability to connect care across their various care settings, including long-term chronic care, post-acute care, outpatient services, home care, and hospice. Following the launch, staff reported smoother transitions between settings, as patient information was integrated on a single system and the need for reentering data was eliminated.

“With Expanse, the impact on medication reconciliation has been significant, as many of our patients have 15-20 different prescriptions they are taking. Today we have confidence that this information is all captured in one medical record that can be accessed at any of our facilities,” said Rogers. In addition, “there has been better movement through the continuum and less expenditure of employee time with tasks such as registration,” he said.

Unlike other health care organizations, which patients may visit a few times a year, the relationships Hebrew SeniorLife has with its patients can last decades. For that reason, it was important that their EHR could capture an extended medical history as well as a variety of personal information important to patients and their families.

“Health goals for those we care for may be different than for other patients,” said Rogers. “Instead of having a goal to lower blood pressure, our patients may just be hoping to gain mobility so they can travel to their grandchild’s upcoming wedding. We want this information to be reflected in the EHR so that the entire care team can work with the patient to make it happen.”

Hebrew SeniorLife plans to introduce the patient and family portal in its next phase, with input from their Family Advisory Committee to improve communication and encourage family engagement in patient care.

“A traditional patient portal falls short of what patients and families need in the world of senior care,” said Tammy Retalic, chief nursing officer and chair of the Family Advisory Council. “Having the ability for family members to see what activities their loved ones have attended in addition to having access to the medical information is a unique feature of this initiative. Partnering with MEDITECH in the development and early adoption of a reimagined patient and family portal ensures that the features are user friendly for family and patients. Our Family Advisory Council is very excited about this pioneering insight into important social determinants of health for their loved ones.”
 
The patient portal enables care providers to add regular reports on a resident’s activities. Changes in a patient’s routines or social activities will be noted along with medical information to tell a more complete story about their overall wellbeing. 

“Our view of health care must encompass a wider social lens, especially for seniors still living at home or with family,” Rogers said. “These patients often need more assistance, so interacting with family and monitoring their activities are important indicators of health. With the EHR, we can track this information in a way that is accessible and meaningful, to create a clearer picture of how the patient is doing and how we can best support them.” 

Rogers added that the organization looks forward to leveraging functionality like business and clinical analytics to advance their financial, clinical, and quality improvement initiatives.

MEDITECH Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Helen Waters believes that EHRs will play a crucial role as patients age and their care becomes more complex. “It is so important that clinicians and family members have the ability to help seniors manage their health, as it has such a big influence on their quality of life,” said Waters. “With its integrated set of tools for collaboration and patient engagement, Expanse will support Hebrew SeniorLife in doing just that.”

About MEDITECH

MEDITECH empowers health care organizations to expand their vision of what’s possible with Expanse, the world’s most intuitive and interoperable EHR. Expanse lays the foundation for the next digital era, enabling care across delivery settings, designing cloud-based systems to drive better outcomes, and providing mobile, personalized solutions to improve efficiency for an overburdened workforce. Expand your possibilities. Visit ehr.meditech.com, find MEDITECH Podcasts on your favorite platform, and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

About Hebrew SeniorLife

Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is a national senior services leader uniquely dedicated to rethinking, researching, and redefining the possibilities of aging. Hebrew SeniorLife cares for more than 3,000 seniors a day across six campuses throughout Greater Boston. Locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-Boston and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-NewBridge in Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline, Brookline; and Jack Satter House, Revere. Founded in 1903, Hebrew SeniorLife also conducts influential research into aging at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, which has a portfolio of more than $85 million, making it one of the largest gerontological research facilities in the U.S. in a clinical setting. It also trains more than 1,000 geriatric care providers each year. For more information about Hebrew SeniorLife, visit our website or follow us on our blog, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.