Last week, Congress passed and President Trump signed the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Support Act.  The bipartisan act, which was supported by the AARP, elevates caregiving to a national priority and will create an advisory committee dedicated to creating a national strategy for supporting caregivers and organizing resources.  This is important on two fronts.  First, it underscores the importance of coordinating care resources and working across industries and health sectors to solve a snowballing threat to our nation and economy. Second, it bolsters the state-level CARE Act, passed into law in 36 states so far, requiring hospitals to identify and educate caregivers for patients in need.

The challenge facing the success of both the RAISE and CARE Acts is that there is no system in place for easily managing caregiver resources or coordinating health records, communications, and care plans in one place as patients move across the system.  That is what genusConnect is committed to solving, and from our collaborations with hospitals, home care companies, community groups, and foundations, it looks like we are on the right path!

Read more here:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinseatonjefferson/2018/01/24/congress-passes-trump-signs-raise-family-caregivers-act-elevating-caregiving-to-a-priority

Recent research from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has shown that engaged family caregivers lower patient readmission rates by up to 25%.  This is big news for hospitals, who are under pressure to lower readmission rates through recently enacted readmission penalties from the Center For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  With the average cost of a readmission for seniors nearing $14,000 for hospitals, reducing these costs will be critical as healthcare economics change.  Further driving this trend is the CARE Act, enacted in 2017 requiring hospitals to identify and educated caregivers for patients in need.

genusConnect is an important tool in addressing this challenge, allowing hospitals to efficiently engage and educate caregivers, helping them navigate the long journey of caregiving, driving better patient outcomes, making caregiving easier, and increasing quality of life.

https://patientengagementhit.com/news/family-caregiver-engagement-cuts-hospital-readmissions-by-25