Streamlining Transfers from Hospital to Post-Acute Care
Interview with Dr. Hamad Husainy, CMO at PointClickCare
Dr. Hamad Husainy, an emergency medicine physician, has seen firsthand the challenges of working with limited data in the emergency department. He believes that IT can help solve this problem, providing the right data, in a digestible, usable, and actionable format.
Main Message
The main message Dr. Husainy wants to convey to hospital and health system attendees at HIMSS25 is that health systems and hospitals can continue to deliver high-quality care and help prevent avoidable readmissions after discharging patients to skilled nursing facilities. Post-acute care management technology lets providers and care teams track patients through their post-acute care journeys and know when to intervene to prevent unnecessary readmissions. This approach facilitates seamless care transitions, improving post-discharge outcomes.
Breaking Down Silos
Historically, patients transferred to post-acute facilities arrive with a packet of paper forms about their hospital stay and care needs. Care managers at the hospital then needed to communicate by fax or phone to receive updates about patients, which is inefficient and often ineffective. This can result in patient decompensation going undetected until an ambulance trip to the ED is required. However, today, care managers at hospitals can stay informed about their patients at community SNFs with real-time data and insights so they can detect and intervene before a health crisis arises.
The Role of Technology
The most prominent technology in healthcare right now is AI. AI-powered physician note generation and other types of documentation systems are becoming common, but many provider organizations are also broadening their implementations, including support of patient outcome predictions. For example, machine-learning kinds of AI can predict the likelihood of identifying patients most likely to be readmitted to the hospital within seven days.
Advice for CIOs and IT Leaders
Dr. Husainy’s first piece of advice is that CIOs and other IT leaders and workers attending HIMSS25 do not need to feel overwhelmed by the amount of data inundating their clinicians. Instead, he suggests that they focus on providing the right data, presented in a standard format (digestible), in a standard location (usable), and to be pertinent (actionable). He also advises that value-based care will continue to expand across public and private health insurers, and that IT leaders need to be ready for this growth.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Dr. Husainy emphasizes the importance of streamlining transfers from hospital to post-acute care, and the role that technology can play in achieving this goal. By providing real-time data and insights, care managers can detect and intervene before a health crisis arises, preventing costly and preventable ED visits and rehospitalizations.
FAQs
- What is the main message Dr. Husainy will be trying to get across to hospital and health system attendees at HIMSS25?
The main message is that health systems and hospitals can continue delivering high-quality care and help prevent avoidable readmissions after discharging patients to skilled nursing facilities. - What is the most prominent technology in healthcare right now?
The most prominent technology is AI, including AI-powered physician note generation and other types of documentation systems. - What advice does Dr. Husainy have for CIOs and IT leaders and workers attending HIMSS25?
He advises them to focus on providing the right data, presented in a standard format, in a standard location, and to be pertinent, and to be ready for the growth of value-based care.
