By Healthcare Facilities Today

The National Transitions of Care Coalition (NTOCC), an organization dedicated to improving patient transitions throughout the healthcare system, has announced the establishment of the NTOCC Healthcare IT Innovations Task Force. In bringing together healthcare technology thought leaders which offer new, innovative or emerging solutions for care transitions challenges, NTOCC and Task Force members will work toward the shared vision of advancing transitions of care (TOC) issues and improving patient outcomes and care quality.

 Cheri Lattimer, RN, BSN, NTOCC Executive Director, says, “Managing transitions of care requires new and innovative technologies, and I am excited to see this dynamic and diverse group of innovative leaders working with NTOCC to identify possible solutions.”

Healthcare software companies RightCare Solutions, Inc. and Ankota, Inc. have signed on to be charter Task Forcemembers, partnering with NTOCC to leverage shared organizational goals in healthcare technology. The Task Force is comprised of leading and innovative technology companies focused on care transitions. This complementary and diverse group will utilize their expertise in creating TOC solutions to collaborate with the NTOCC Board of Directors and Health Information Technology (HIT) Workgroup to determining existing gaps in HIT and consider solutions to eliminate barriers to improved transitions.

 “Technology innovation is always led by new entrants and upstarts,” says Ankota’s CEO, Will Hicklen. “I’m honored and thrilled to work on the Task Force with fellow charter member, RightCare Solutions, and with NTOCC’s members in one of the most collaborative organizations I’ve ever seen.” Hicklen serves as the Chair of the newly formed Task Force. 

“With so much noise and clutter in the care transitions technology space, it’s impossible to expect clinicians to stay abreast of what’s truly innovative and transformative. I’m excited to play a role in informing and educating the NTOCC membership about these paradigm-shifting technologies, and I too am honored to join Will and Ankota as one of the two charter members of this very promising task force,” says Matt Tanzer, Chief Commercial Officer at RightCare Solutions, who is also the co-chair of NTOCC’s HIT Workgroup.

 RightCare Solutions and Ankota will present the technology session at NTOCC’s upcoming Regional Transitions of Care Summit in Atlanta, GA on October 17.

The Healthcare IT Innovations Task Force is open to technology companies focused on care transitions; for additional information, contact NTOCC by visiting http://www.ntocc.org/ContactUs.aspx. 

About the National Transition of Care Coalition 

The National Transitions of Care Coalition is a 501(c)(4) dedicated to addressing a serious U.S. healthcare issue: filling the gaps that occur when patients leave one care setting and move to another care setting. These transitions include patients moving from primary care to specialty physicians; moving or transferring patients from the emergency department to intensive care or surgery; or when patients are discharged from the hospital to home, assisted living arrangements, or skilled nursing facilities. Working in conjunction with 450 Associate Member organizations and over 4,000 individual professional subscribers, NTOCC has developed tools and resources made available to everyone in the healthcare industry including providers, payors, patients and consumers. For more information, visithttp://www.NTOCC.org and follow the Coalition on Twitter @NTOCC.

 About Ankota 

 Ankota technology organizes providers into health care "Ecosystems" to efficiently Plan, Coordinate and Deliver care and effectively manage Care Transitions. More than 1400 providers ranging from large health systems to post-acute providers use Ankota’s Care Coordination Platform, making it the largest and fastest growing platform of its kind. For more information, visit Ankota at Ankota.com.

 About RightCare Solutions 

 The RightCare software is the culmination of a decade-long proprietary research program, known as D2S2, conducted at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. The software risk-stratifies patients at admission, prioritizes clinician workflow, and automates post-acute care transitions, all within a health system’s existing technological framework. In 2013 alone tens of thousands of patients have already benefitted from the software, reducing 30- and 60-day all-cause hospital readmissions by 29%. Visit RightCareSolutions.com or @TeamRightCare on Twitter for more information.