For Physicians

Success Story: Home Health Link Helps Avoid Costly Hospitalizations

05-01-2007

Experts acknowledged that the development of a communication system can be somewhat time-consuming at the start, but the time is often recovered later when a home health nurse takes care of a problem that would otherwise require the physician's attention.

Source: American College of Physicians, ACP Observer      
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To Physicians:

The complex world of patient care requires us, as providers, to understand not only our role but the role that other settings of health care provide. Understanding this can not only improve patient care and satisfaction but also facilitate better communication between settings where transitions of care exist. No matter the setting, all providers want their patients to remain at home whenever possible. 

Our role as the ordering physician in the home care process is critical. We need to understand the ways in which we can better meet the responsibility of providing the most efficient, patient centered and safest care for our patients. Many of us have had experiences where having home care involved has assisted us in caring for unstable patients and ultimately has improved our patient’s satisfaction of our overall management of their health care problems.

This “For Physicians” section of this site will identify pertinent links to various articles related to the use of home care and the role of physicians in reducing avoidable acute care hospitalizations.

We hope you will find this information helpful and ask that you share this with your colleagues.

David Wenner, DO, FAAFP
Home Health Quality Improvement Organization Support Center
Medical Director