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Emergency department-based home care
1University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Memphis.
Annals of Emergency Medicine
|May 1, 1994
Summary
Coordinating home care services from an inner-city emergency department (ED) is feasible. This program successfully provided home health services to elderly patients, reducing hospital admissions and proving economically viable.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Geriatric Care
- Emergency Medicine
Background:
- A significant proportion of elderly patients discharged from emergency departments (EDs) require home health services.
- Identifying and coordinating these services can be challenging within existing healthcare structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility of coordinating home care services directly from an inner-city emergency department.
- To assess the impact of such a program on patient care and hospital admissions.
Main Methods:
- A preintervention survey identified unmet home care needs in 650 ED patients.
- A dedicated nurse-coordinator managed home care services for eight months.
- Services were provided regardless of insurance status to adult patients discharged from the ED.
Main Results:
- 7% of surveyed patients were eligible but not receiving home care.
- 670 patients were referred for home care, with 67% receiving services managed by the ED coordinator.
- 22% of patients receiving services avoided emergency hospital admission, and the program was financially sustainable.
Conclusions:
- Coordinating home care from the ED is feasible and beneficial.
- Rapidly deployed home care services can prevent hospital admissions for vulnerable, debilitated patients.
- This model of care is economically viable for healthcare systems.