The interim homecare program: an innovative discharge planning alternative.
With the advent of prospective payment systems and diagnostic related groups, hospitals are under increasing pressure to discharge patients as soon as they are medically ready. Many patients require additional time to recover physically, socially, emotionally, and functionally. The Interim Homecare Program (IHP) provides time-limited intensive home health aide services for elderly patients who are at risk for protracted recovery times or rehospitalization due to incomplete or failed recuperation after hospital discharge. In this article the authors report on a study of data from case records of all IHP patients served during the first year of operation. The study compared the length of stay (LOS) for IHP patients to the estimated LOS that they would have had if IHP services had not been available. The success of IHP in shortening LOS for this high-risk population exceeded projected estimates and expectations.
Schwartz
P J
PJ
Department of Social Work Services, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY 10029.
Blumenfield
S
S
Simon
E P
EP
D000368:Aged; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D006748:Hospital Departments / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010359:Patient Readmission; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012948:Social Work Department, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*