title: Technology and home care: implementing systems to enhance aging in place.
abstract: The national healthcare agenda to improve efficiencies, reduce costs, provide high quality evidence and performance based care while simultaneously meeting stricter legal and regulatory requirements, has forced home care and hospice staff to change the way they work. These pressures require a reliance on new technologies to meet these goals. Through the agency-wide introduction and implementation of a variety of technological systems; electronic medical record/ point of care devises, telehealth, telephony and e-learning the Norwell VNA and Hospice has been able to improve efficiencies for employees allowing the focus of services to remain solely on patients and patient care. The technology has enhanced the agency's performance standards, communication and ultimate outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Norwell VNA and Hospice, 91 Longwater Circle, Norwell, MA 02061, USA. jcrossensills@nvna.org
authors.forename: Jackie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Crossen-Sills
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Toomey
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Doherty
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000458:organization & administration; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000458:organization & administration*; D018574:Home Care Agencies / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D018576:Home Health Aides / Q000458:organization & administration; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008404:Massachusetts; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems / Q000458:organization & administration; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013689:Telephone