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AGGREGATE NATIONAL NEED
• There are currently 34 million
older adults and this number will likely double in the next twenty years.(l)
• By 2020 an estimated two million elderly will be chronically
homebound due to functional impairment.(2)
• There are two million chronically homebound patients (half under
65), with the rapid increase of the elderly population the need for
home care physicians will be in greater demand.(3)
SENIORS’ PREFERENCE FOR CARE
• Patients prefer to be cared for
at home. House calls are a solution to the improvement of service quality.(4)
• All patients, regardless of age, prefer to be cared for in their
own home. Physician house calls not only respect this preference, but
also can improve overall care and patient outcomes. (5)
• Elderly patient's integrity is valued at a higher level, when
physicians provide home care visits. (6)
QUALITY OF CARE
• Through home care treatment, physicians
are able to evaluate the health status of patients and caregivers more
effectively. (7)
• House calls allow the physician to become better able to interact
with the patient family and caregivers by evaluating patients in their
natural environment and developing a more comprehensive sense of physical
and psycho-social needs and possibilities.(8)
• Nurses and other non-physician health care practitioners today
provide most home care. Physicians are able to provide a more complex
level of health care and theability to manage more complex patients
in the home than would otherwise be available to and including an ER
level of care. Working with other health practitioners, physicians can
help assure that a broader range of patient care is managed effectively.
(9)
• Home care physicians increase the communication with other onsite
providers, which correlates with the improvement of patient care. (10)
• Today medical technology can increase the home health options
for direct care and monitoring of patient progress. (11)
• Family physicians who conduct home visits report a higher level
of practice satisfaction than those who do not offer this service. (12)
SYSTEM SAVINGS
• The cost ofhomecare is significantly
lower when compared to hospital visits, emergency room procedures, or
ambulance transportation. Care management systems including house calls
have demonstrated the ability to reduce hospital and ER admissions and
re-admissions, average lengths of stay, and to reduce nursing home admissions.(14)
• Cost-effectiveness may also be demonstrated when comparing certain
chronic diseases treated at home as versus the institution (15).
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