Measuring Burden of Care After Catastrophic Illness or Injury

Burden of care (BoC) is the amount of time a patient requires direct, daily assistance from another person to meet basic needs in the home; it is based on a patient's functional level, obtained using the Functional Independence Measure. Inpatient BoC is a patient's projected resource utilization during a stay at an inpatient facility, assessed using the Northwick Park Dependency Scale. At the outpatient level, function and BoC can be assessed using the LIFEware System. Measuring and monitoring outcomes of all care result in reduced health care expenditures, more streamlined patient care, and improved quality of life for patients and families.