Center for Technology and Aging Launches Online “ADOPT Toolkit©” and Advisory Services to Help Health Care Organizations Implement Technologies for Chronic Disease Management

OAKLAND, Calif. – Sept. 25, 2012 – The Center for Technology and Aging announced today the launch of the online “ADOPT Toolkit©” (toolkit.techandaging.org) and associated technical advisory and consulting services. These new initiatives build on the CTA’s experience of successfully managing technology demonstration programs and assisting health care organizations across the country adopt technologies for improving chronic disease management and reducing hospital re-admissions.

“Accelerating diffusion of proven technologies – “ADOPT” – has been our mission since we started sponsoring technology demonstration grants several years ago,” said David Lindeman, PhD, Director of the Center for Technology and Aging. “We’re taking our expertise to the next level by offering consulting services to the broader health care community and creating the online ADOPT Toolkit©.”

The ADOPT Toolkit website includes free, practical “how to” resources that guide providers, ranging from hospitals and health systems to aging services organizations, through the often complex technology adoption maze – from planning and development to implementation and evaluation. ADOPT tools can be used by organizations seeking to improve care or reduce rehospitalizations for individuals with chronic conditions, such as heart disease or COPD.

“The website builds on CTA’s research and real-world experience and is designed for organizations committed to using technology to dramatically improve chronic disease management,” said Wendy Everett, President of NEHI, a national health policy institute with expertise identifying barriers to adoption of technologies for patients with chronic illnesses. “It is an invaluable resource that will help any organization avoid the pitfalls of technology adoption.”

“Our approach has been comprehensive. We want organizations, whether starting down this path for the first time or seeking to scale existing technologies, to have confidence each step of the way,” said Lindeman. “Organizational Assessment and Return on Investment (ROI) tools, for example, enable organizations to look at implementation from a 360 degree perspective.”

The website will offer tools in four discreet technology areas: remote patient monitoring (RPM), medication optimization, care transitions, and mobile health. RPM tools are now available online and tools for mobile health technologies will be available in November.

“Implementing supportive technologies isn’t like downloading a smartphone app. It is time-consuming and complex, requiring a significant commitment of time and resources,” said Lindeman. “A well-designed program yields substantial benefits to caregivers, families and patients. The Toolkit helps organizations learn from the successes and failures of others and expedite implementation.” 
Toolkit templates and guides are organized into workstreams that support both program sustainability and scalability and that simplify the steps required to successfully deploy a technology:  Program Planning, Technology, Patient Management, Clinical Management, Finance, Administration, Marketing, and Evaluation & Performance Improvement. A “starter kit” set of RPM tools, including an Organizational Readiness Assessment, is available to organizations new to technology adoption.

A free one-hour nationwide webinar is scheduled for October 17th, 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT), that will introduce health care providers and systems to using the new ADOPT Toolkit. To register, go to bit.ly/O4o95X

Advisory Services

The Center for Technology and Aging’s extensive experience now will be offered to health care organizations looking for support in these strategic areas:

·       Technology Opportunity Assessments for evaluating what technologies are most appropriate for a health care organization’s clients and developing a road map to move toward adoption.

·       Technology Readiness Assessments for gauging an organization’s readiness to adopt a technology, identifying gaps that need to be closed before program implementation.

·       Technology Implementation Planning & Evaluations that apply the ADOPT technology model for program implementation to assure that a new technology is implemented successfully.

·       Technology Learning Collaborative coordination that enables geographically dispersed health care stakeholders to collaborate, share, and learn together through structured, ongoing programs.

In recent years, CTA has worked with nearly 100 organizations from California to Connecticut, supporting technology adoption that has led to substantial cost savings, reductions in hospitalization, and improved quality of life for persons with chronic illnesses.

“CTA was influential in the design and evaluation of our expanded telehealth program,” said Erin Denholm, CEO of Denver-based Centura Health at Home.  “Initiating, expanding or integrating technology into home care services is complex.  We valued the expertise that CTA offered and the outstanding results achieved, including a 62% reduction in hospitalizations related to heart failure, COPD and diabetes and a decrease of 90% in ED utilization from the year preceding the telehealth program.”

Other CTA-supported programs have achieved equally impressive results, including RPM programs at Sharp HealthCare (San Diego, CA) and Atrius Health (Auburndale, MA) where RPM tools contributed to nearly halving hospitalization rates among participating heart failure patients.

“Health care is at a critical juncture. An aging population, incentives for better chronic care management, and advancing technology are aligning,” said Lindeman. “With appropriate planning and implementation strategies, patients, families, providers and entire communities can benefit from accelerated diffusion of technologies that truly contribute to independent living, a better quality of life, and efficient use of scarce health care resources.”

About Us

The Center for Technology and Aging (www.techandaging.org) is a national resource center that supports the adoption and diffusion of technology-enabled care for older adults that is patient-centered, coordinated, efficient, and effective. Through the ADOPT Toolkit and associated technical advisory services, CTA enables health care providers, aging services organizations, payers, and policy makers to accelerate the diffusion of proven technologies. A Public Health Institute center of excellence, CTA is located in Oakland, Calif.