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The compassionate communities connectors program: effect on healthcare usage
Samar M Aoun1, Natasha Bear2, Bruce Rumbold3
1School of Medicine, Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, The University of Western Australia, 8 Verdun St, Perth WA 6009, Australia.
Palliative Care and Social Practice
|October 30, 2023
Summary
Community volunteers providing palliative care reduced hospitalizations and emergency visits, shifting care towards home-based services. This compassionate community model offers significant healthcare savings and improved patient outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Palliative Care
- Health Economics
Background:
- Public health palliative care models aim for integrated services using community assets.
- Few studies evaluate the cost-benefit of these community-based service models.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of a community-based palliative care program on healthcare utilization.
- Evaluate the cost-effectiveness of volunteer-delivered practical and social support for advanced illness patients.
Main Methods:
- Controlled before-and-after study with cost-consequence analysis.
- 43 patients in the 'Compassionate Communities Connectors' program (2020-2022).
- 172 randomly selected patients as a comparator group from health service data.
Main Results:
- Intervention group showed significantly lower hospitalizations (IRR: 0.37), hospital days (IRR: 0.23), and emergency presentations (IRR: 0.56).
- Outpatient contacts doubled in the intervention group (IRR: 2.07), indicating a shift to community care.
- Projected net savings of $AUD 518,701 for 100 patients over 6 months.
Conclusions:
- Community-centered palliative care optimizes services, improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs.
- The 'Compassionate Communities Connectors' program demonstrates significant health system gains through reduced hospitalizations and readmissions.
- Investment in this model can decrease health sector expenditure while enhancing care for life-limiting illnesses.
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