AOTA Partners with Cedaron Medical, Inc. to Develop Electronic Patient Record & Documentation System
The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), the national professional association for occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants and students, today announced a licensing agreement with Cedaron Medical, Inc. to develop electronic patient record and documentation system for the occupational therapy profession.
The electronic patient record and documentation system will be based on the profession’s research and literature including AOTA’s official document, Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process, which presents a summary of interrelated constructs that define and guide occupational therapy practice. Occupational Therapy Practice Framework was developed to articulate occupational therapy's the constructs that underlie the profession and promote the health and participation of people, organizations and populations through engagement in occupation. Additionally, the development of such a system is consistent with the Centennial Vision and aligns with the movement in health care policy to improve efficiency by use of electronic health records.
“AOTA will work with Cedaron to develop documentation templates for evaluations, assessments, interventions and outcomes specific to occupational therapy practice,” said AOTA President Penelope Moyers Cleveland, EdD, OTR/L, BCMH, FAOTA. “This will allow occupational therapy practitioners to meet the documentation needs established by facilities, payers, government agencies and accreditation bodies.” The results will also “enable tracking of the outcomes of occupational therapy that contribute to the overall health of society,” Moyers Cleveland noted.
Using Cedaron’s state-of-the-art platform, occupational therapy practitioners will be able to customize the software to their individual workflow, document all components of patient care, and track outcomes. In addition, the system will allow for scheduling patients and communicating directly with billing systems without repeating any steps. Furthermore, with a few keystrokes, clinical managers will be able to produce management reports on patient care operations from their offices. In addition, users participating in AOTA’s National Outcomes Database for Occupational Therapy will be able to access national and facility-based outcomes measures for benchmarking patient progress.
“Given Cedaron’s previous experience providing outcomes data capturing services to other health care professions, this partnership is well within our capabilities and will allow us to continue in our desired direction, said Karen Bond, president and CEO of Cedaron.
The system will be specifically designed to capture outcomes data using the Boston University Activity Measure for Post Acute Care (AM-PAC™) and other measures. The AM-PAC tool will be a measure used to gather functional improvement data for AOTA’s National Outcomes Database for Occupational Therapy. The AM-PAC, an outcome instrument provided by CREcare, LLC, assesses a client’s functional status across three domains: basic mobility, daily activities and applied cognitive. The AM-PAC was developed by researchers at the Boston University Health and Disability Institute.
The AOTA documentation system will be compatible with ASHT Connect, SLP Connect by ASHA and APTA Connect, which will allow for a common electronic platform across the occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech language pathology professions.
Founded in 1917, the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) represents the professional interests and concerns of more than 140,000 occupational therapists, assistants and students nationwide. The Association educates the public and advances the profession of occupational therapy by providing resources, setting standards including accreditations and serving as an advocate to improve health care. Based in Bethesda, Md., AOTA’s major programs and activities are directed toward promoting the professional development of its members and assuring consumer access to quality services so patients can maximize their individual potential. For more information, go to www.aota.org.
Cedaron Medical, Inc. was founded and began technological development in 1990 with partial funding from a NASA grant (SBIR). Cedaron has grown to become the authority in the health care "outcomes" market. For over 15 years, Cedaron has been developing and refining its comprehensive solution. Cedaron has specifically designed software for Physical Therapists, Hand Therapists, Occupation Therapists, Hand Surgeons, Orthopedic Surgeons, Plastic Surgeon, Cardiologists, Thoracic Surgeons and several other medical specialties. To date, Cedaron has serviced more than 800 facilities in over 15 countries and owns five related patents. Cedaron is located in Davis, CA. For more information, go to www.cedaron.com.