Seven Key Points for Managed Care Related to Reducing Avoidable Acute Care Hospitalizations
- If given the choice of being hospitalized versus staying at home, patients prefer to stay at home.
- Currently, more than one in four home health patient episodes results in a hospitalization.
- Home health clinicians can identify patients at high risk for hospitalizations and select patient-centered interventions that promote more effective, safe and efficient patient care.
- Home health can assist with keeping chronically ill patients at home and reduce hospitalizations by developing patient’s self-care management skills.
- A national home health campaign is underway to provide assistance to providers delivering patient care by promoting strategies to reduce avoidable hospitalizations.
- Home health is currently using the following best practice interventions to attempt to reduce avoidable hospitalizations:
- Identifying patients at high-risk for hospitalization
- Educating patients/caregivers when to call the agency versus when to seek emergent care
- Front-loading visits (higher frequency early in episode) to intensify care during the time when patients are most vulnerable for readmission to the hospital.
- Promoting patient self management development that includes providing telehealth services via phone monitoring or telemonitoring, medication management improvement, and illness management education and coaching
- Implementing a falls prevention program for those identified as being at risk for falls
- Managed Care is in a unique position to collaborate with home health care providers to support these interventions by collaborating with contracted home health care providers to determine patient-centered interventions to achieve better patient outcomes and reduce avoidable hospitalizations.
