A profile of Department of Veterans Affairs hospital based home care programs.
This paper describes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) home care program and compares it to community-based programs. Structure and process data were collected on hospital based home care programs in VA facilities nationwide (n=75). Supplemental data were obtained on staffing and patient attributes. Although the VA provides program guidelines, some variability was noted. The characteristics of VA programs and patients were then compared to National Center for Health Statistics survey data. This comparison revealed that VA programs provide a more comprehensive array of services to patients including physician home visits than most community-based programs.
Weaver
F M
FM
Center for Cooperative Studies in Health Services, Hines VA Hospital, IL 60141, USA.
Hughes
S L
SL
Kubal
J D
JD
Ulasevich
A
A
Bonarigo
F M
FM
Cummings
J
J
D000368:Aged; D017028:Caregivers; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D004608:Eligibility Determination; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006302:Health Services Research; D018574:Home Care Agencies / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018575:Home Care Services, Hospital-Based / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data