The Center for Technology and Aging (CTA) is collaborating with the Administration on Aging (AoA) and CMS to fund innovative care transition projects for older adults and persons with disabilities. Grants are designed to expand use of technologies that promote better patient transitions from hospitals, rehabilitation centers or nursing facilities back to homes or other community settings.
According to The New England Journal of Medicine, avoidable hospital readmissions within 30 days of discharge cost Medicare $17.4 billion per year. CTA’s “Technologies for Improving Post-Acute Care Transitions” (Tech4Impact) grants are designed to encourage creation of new programs through the national system of Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRC).
CTA director David Lindeman said, “Use of selected technologies such as remote patient monitoring and medication management technologies is associated with reduced hospitalizations, so it makes sense to focus on expanding their use.”
Tech4Impact grants will complement grantee funding made available through the $60 million AoA and CMS initiative, “Implementing the Affordable Care Act: Making it Easier for Individuals to Navigate their Health and Long-Term Care through Person-Centered Systems of Information, Counseling and Access.”
Complete details are available at: www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/Grants/Funding/index.aspx.
Additional guidelines pertaining to Tech4Impact grants are available at www.techandaging.org
CTA will make Tech4Impact funds available to states that are awarded grants by AoA/CMS for program Option D: ADRCs Evidence-Based Care Transition Programs. (AoA/CMS grant applications are submitted electronically at www.grants.gov.) The CTA application for states will be released by September 30, 2010, and full proposals will be due October 15, 2010. Grants are expected to commence by January 2011.
ADRCs (www.adrc-tae.org) are community-based programs designed to streamline access to long-term care services under the auspice of the Administration on Aging, an arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
In addition to this newly announced program, CTA administers grant-funding for projects that seek to expand the use of medication optimization and remote patient monitoring technologies for the care of older Americans. CTA was established with funding from The SCAN Foundation (www.thescanfoundation.org) and is affiliated with the Public Health Institute (www.phi.org) in Oakland, California.
From the CTA web site:
The important work of the Center for Technology and Aging would not be possible without the generous support of The SCAN Foundation, a creation of the Senior Care Action Network not-for-profit health plan. Through an initial grant of $5 million The SCAN Foundation has supported the establishment of the Center to promote the independence and well-being of older adults through the broader diffusion of beneficial technologies. The Center serves as a national resource for providers and policy makers who are engaged in using technology to enhance the lives of older adults.
The Center funds demonstration programs to test strategies to promote the diffusion of technology. We also serve as a trusted and independent expert voice on current technology, providing unbiased analysis and basic facts on technologies that help promote the independence of older adults. In addition, we are a source of information concerning current research, implementation tools, and policy initiatives related to technologies that help older adults maintain their independence.
