ARLINGTON, VA – ADvancing States is pleased to announce the release of a new issue brief, Aging and Disabilities Information Technology Systems: What You Need to Know, developed under the leadership of the Aging and Disabilities Technology Workgroup. This issue brief is the first publication from the workgroup, which was established in 2019 in order to drive improvements in aging and disabilities state agencies’ information technology (IT), facilitate sharing and learning among states, and assist states as they seek to implement and integrate technology that supports holistic person-centered services. The work of the workgroup is intended to expand agency IT capacity, increase technological innovation at the state level, and improve state/federal engagement on IT policy.

Disconnects between and across health care, social services, and long-term services and supports programs have led to similar divides in the development and operation of information technology. Currently, several trends across these systems are converging in a manner that is rapidly transforming the nature of service delivery and placing increased emphasis on the need for emerging IT infrastructure. These trends include an increased focus on person-centered services, emphasis on addressing social determinants of health, alignment of government-funded services, and a focus on reimbursing services based on value. The emerging IT infrastructure will need to support appropriate information sharing to coordinate care and service delivery properly.

Martha Roherty, ADvancing States Executive Director, encouraged partners at state agencies and technology companies to review the brief, “We hope and believe that this paper will serve as a resource to both state agencies as well as technology companies so that they can better coordinate the development of systems that support holistic person-centered service and supports.”

There are a wide range of IT concepts that are important for agency staff to become familiar with so that they can effectively communicate business needs and processes to facilitate system development that supports the underlying LTSS delivery system. The paper seeks to define many of these key terms and, importantly, explain how they relate to the technology that is currently used in aging and disabilities services as well as emerging opportunities in the field.

Click here to read the issue brief.