Home Health Care reduces return hospital visits
A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that nearly one fifth of Medicare patients are readmitted to the hospital within a month of discharge and one third are readmitted within 90 days. However, among patients who receive home health care services in Wisconsin only 26 percent are rehospitalized.
According to Home Care Compare, a web-based data base of home health agencies, 71 percent of Medicare home health care patients in Wisconsin stay home after they are discharged from home care compared to 68 percent nationally. Some local home health agencies have an even better record. Home Health United, serving patients in 25 southern Wisconsin counties, reported 73 percent of patients remaining home after receiving their services.
Some ways Home Health United is keeping people in their homes and out of the hospital include: using telehealth monitoring; patient education; 24-hour on-call nursing consultation; and instructing patients to call their home health case manager first with concerns.
"Our agency developed a plan of action to specifically reduce rehospitalizations," said Lynne Willer, RN, home health program director for HHU.