By Healthcare Facilities Today

Information technology is the key to surviving shifting payer mixes and greater accountability for quality care, most long-term and post-acute (LT/PAC) providers said in a recent survey. Without better technology capabilities, about half of providers surveyed predict they will be bought out by more capable companies by 2015, according to an article on the Long-Term Living magazine website.

The “2014 Long Term and Post-Acute Care Information Technology: Adoption, Utilization and Forecasts” survey asked executives at LT/PAC provider organizations to assess their information technology and patient data exchange capabilities and needs. Most of the 464 respondents (92%) said that IT platforms for care coordination and data exchange would improve their organizations’ financial health and their ability to operate successfully under accountable care initiatives.

Sixty-three percent rated their healthcare IT system capabilities "extremely poor or non-existent." For skilled nursing facility respondents, the number was 79 percent.

Eighty-nine percent of those surveyed could think of two or fewer vendors or consultants that specialize in technology solutions for LT/PAC providers. More than three-quarters of respondents couldn’t name any.

Read the article.