CHICAGO – The American Health Information Management Association’s Foundation of Research and Education – FORE – has launched a project focused on electronic health records and other information technology for use in nursing homes.

The work from this project will enable post-acute and long-term care vendors and providers to develop and implement electronic health records and healthcare information technology products that will be functional in the emerging interoperable nationwide health information network.

Also, the project will provide policymakers with additional information to support implementation of healthcare IT standards for patient assessments required by the federal government.

FORE will use the Consolidated Health Informatics standards accepted by the Department of Health and Human Services for assessment instruments used in long-term care.

Specifically, the project will apply approved CHI standards to the nursing home Minimum Data Set (MDS) and home health Outcome Assessment Information Set (OASIS), validate the accuracy and impact of the application of these CHI standards, and develop guidance for using them for the exchange of standardized assessment and patient summary data.