Automation of Long Term Care Risk Factor Guidelines

We will develop a prototype CD-ROM automated version of a Long-Term Care Risk IdentificationGuidelines Manual. The 700 page "Risk Identification Guidelines" (RIG) manual is currently used byinsurers marketing long-term care (LTC) insurance policies, by care management agencies and by healthcare providers. Although the RIG manual is comprehensive and has proven to be valid and reliable, itsusefulness is somewhat limited because it is in hard copy. This increases the time needed to accessimportant reference material, makes updating more difficult and inhibits the ability of users to customizethe manual to meet individual risk management philosophy. Automation of the manual will make it moreaccessible and enhance its effectiveness as an aid to clinicians involved in LTC risk identification andclassification. The prototype will assist in streamlining the clinical decision-making process, enable usersto easily reference key medical, functional and cognitive indicators relevant to LTC risk identification,and facilitate classification of individuals into LTC risk categories. An automated PC-based manualwould represent a new and innovative product which could also aid states as they assume greaterresponsibility for managing home-based LTC programs.