Health care services use in assisted living: a time series analysis

This article describes British Columbia's regulatory model for assisted living and used time series analysis to examine individuals' use of health care services before and after moving to assisted living. The 4,219 assisted living residents studied were older and predominantly female, with 73 per cent having one or more major chronic conditions. Use of health care services tended to increase before the move to assisted living, drop at the time of the move (most notably for general practitioners, medical specialists, and acute care), and remain low for the 12-month follow-up period. These apparent positive effects are not trivial; the cohort of 1,894 assisted living residents used 18,000 fewer acute care days in the year after, compared to the year before, their move. Future research should address whether and how assisted living affects longer-term pathways of care for older adults and ultimately their function and quality of life.