OAKLAND, Calif. – February, 28, 2013 – The Center for Technology and Aging (CTA)
announced today the availability of new tools to help health care organizations design and
implement technology-enabled health care programs for care transitions and medication
optimization. The online tools are part of the recently launched ADOPT (Accelerate the
Diffusion of Proven Technologies) Toolkit© website: http://toolkit.techandaging.org/.
“Connected health technologies that improve management of transitional care and medication
optimization dramatically improve the health and well-being of persons with chronic disease
or functional impairments, as well helping the nation avoid billions of dollars in costly hospital
readmissions and other unnecessary health care expenses,” said David Lindeman, PhD,
Director of the Center for Technology and Aging.
The ADOPT Toolkit includes free, practical resources that guide hospitals, health systems,
aging services organizations and other providers through the technology adoption phases:
planning, development, implementation, and evaluation. Toolkit resources are organized
into eight workstreams that simplify technology deployment steps: program planning,
technology management, patient management, clinical management, financial management,
administration, marketing, and finally, evaluation and performance improvement.
“These new ‘how to’ tools reflect our broad research, advisory services experience, and
successful technology demonstration programs,” said Lindeman. “Whether an organization is
brand new to implementing technology-enabled programs, building off of successful programs,
or fine tuning current programs, the ADOPT Toolkit offers tested mechanisms that improve and
expand providers’ capacity for adopting technologies.”
The online Toolkit already includes resources for remote patient monitoring (RPM) and a fourth
area, mobile health solutions, will be added later this year.
"This web site is comprehensive and right on point, it should be very helpful to health plans,
providers, community clinics and public health agencies, as well as community-based
organizations," said Ilia Rolón, Manager of Strategic Operations at CalOptima.
Care transition tools were developed in collaboration with numerous health care programs,
including five state Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) that are part of an
Administration on Aging (AoA) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) initiative
to help individuals manage their long-term care support services. Indiana and Texas focused on
care transitions program planning and evaluation. California, Rhode Island, and Washington
expanded the use of personal health record technologies.
Medication optimization tools were developed in collaboration with ten organizations that
implemented projects ranging from the use of pill dispensers to pharmacy tracking programs.
According to a national report by NEHI, medication non-adherence costs the nation an
estimated $290 billion or more than 10 percent of all US healthcare spending. Support for the
development of the ADOPT Toolkit was provided by The SCAN Foundation, the Gordon Betty
Moore Foundation, the California HealthCare Foundation, and The Commonwealth Fund.
About Us
The Center for Technology and Aging (www.techandaging.org) is a national resource center
that supports the adoption of technology-enabled care for older adults that is patient-centered,
coordinated, efficient, and effective. Through the ADOPT Toolkit and associated technical
and operational advisory/consulting services, CTA enables health care providers, aging
services organizations, payers, and policy makers to accelerate the implementation of proven
technologies. A Public Health Institute center of excellence, CTA is located in Oakland, Calif.
For further information, please contact:
Valerie Steinmetz, Program Director
vsteinmetz@techandaging.org
