Why Do Care Transitions Remain a Black Hole in Healthcare?

Care transitions between acute and post-acute organizations remains fraught with challenges. They can be inefficient, highly manual, and prone to errors. This has been known for years, yet remains an area that receives little attention and funding. Why is that?

This was the central question in a Healthcare IT Today panel discussion (recording available) featuring:

• Mary Kay Thalken, RN, MBA, Chief Clinical Officer at Ensocare
• Patrick Yee, Chief Technology Officer at Ensocare
• Mark Kestner, Chief Medical Officer at TractManager

Current state of care transitions

“Patient transitions today are very bumpy, at best,” stated Thalken. “The process for the staff handling transitions is largely manual. They are still using telephones, fax machines, and copiers. There are about 40 steps from the point where a case manager receives an order to find placement to that patient actually being placed in a post-acute care facility.”