Post-Acute & Long-Term Care Facilities

While the use of telehealth in congregate care settings, such as in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Facilities had been growing pre-pandemic, it became a lifeline for many facilities during the peak of the pandemic.  A large number of resources have been developed to assist those in these settings, including our Leveraging Telehealth in Long-Term Care Community Response Toolkit.  Other resources include:

West Health Institute has developed the following resources for PALTC settings:

• Getting Started with Telehealth: PALTC
• Getting Started with Telehealth:  Provider (with PALTC)
• A Practical Guide to Telehealth: Implementing Telehealth in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Settings (PALTC)
• Rapid Deployment: Getting Started with Telehealth Pre-visit Form: PALTC
• Rapid Deployment: Getting Started with Teleheallth Post-visit From: PALTC
• Telehealth Workflow for Post-Acute and Long Term Care Facilities

The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine has published Standards for the Use of Telemedicine for Evaluation and Management of Resident Change of Condition in the Nursing Home.

LeadingAge has developed the following guides for selecting and implementing telehealth technologies:

• Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring for Long-Term and Post-Acute Care: A Primer and Provider Selection Guide
• Social Connectedness and Engagement Technology for Long-Term and Post-Acute Care: A Primer and Provider Selection Guide
• Safety Technology for Long-Term and Post-Acute Care: A Primer and Provider Selection Guide
• Medication Management Technologies for Long-Term and Post-Acute Care
• Electronic Health Records (EHRs) for Long-Term and Post-Acute Care: A Primer on Planning and Vendor Selection
• Functional Assessment and Activity Monitoring Technology: A Primer and Provider Selection Guide
• Shared Care Planning and Coordination Technology for Long Term and Post-Acute Care: A Primer and Provider Selection Guide
• Resident/Client Technology Support and Training Guide

The Virginia Impact Initiative aims to achieve improved preparedness through technology supported, evidence-based education and advice for statewide infectious disease management across congregate living environments.  This project strives to bring together a community of practice of facility-based infection control teams through consultation on the use of telehealth in congregate care and monthly webinars for on-going state-wide dialogue.

Medicare has made several policy changes related to telehealth for Skilled Nursing and Long Term Care Facilities:

• See Final Rule for SNFs - FY2024
• See Final Rule for Hospital IPPS Long-Term Care - FY2024