Mobile networks for reducing hospital readmissions

According to a press release announcing this collaborative effort, CareInSync, a technology provider for the Santa Clara County Acute Care to Skilled Nursing Facility Collaborative Program (AC2SNF), will deploy its Carebook platform within the first-of-its-kind Mobile Care Navigation Network (MCNN) connecting Santa Clara County hospitals and SNFs.

During the first phase of the collaborative, slated for launch in first quarter 2014, the mobile effort will link three hospitals: Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and O'Connor Hospital in San Jose, as well as their respective nursing facility partners. The initiative will give healthcare providers the ability to access the mobile network via their iPads or iPhones.

In announcing the partnership and upcoming deployment of the MCNN, Jo Coffaro, regional vice president of the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California said: "In Santa Clara County, recent data reveals that 29 percent of the Medicare patient 30-day readmissions come from SNFs. Adults, especially seniors, oftentimes risk poor handoff coordination and information exchange as they transition from hospitals to SNFs. The new Mobile Care Navigation Network will allow us to develop a collaboration plan with skilled nursing facilities that ensures our most vulnerable and fragile patients receive the highest quality, evidence-based care to avoid complications and unplanned readmissions."