title: A cost measurement study for a home-based telehospice service.
abstract: A telehospice service is one in which telemedicine is used to provide hospice care in the home. To date, there have been few studies addressing the cost of home-based telemedical care, and none that specifically addresses cost-effectiveness for telehospice recipients. We measured costs for traditional hospice care as well as those associated with launching and operating a telehospice service. The costs were tallied over two separate three-month periods. For the first study period, costs were measured for traditional hospice home visits. During the second, expenses were monitored for traditional (in-person) and telehospice visits. For traditional care, the cost per visit was $126 and $141, for the first and secod time periods, respectively. The average telehospice visit cost was $29.
authors.affiliation: TeleMedicine Services, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City 66160, USA. gdoolitt@kumc.edu
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Doolittle
mesh_terms: D006284:Health Plan Implementation / Q000191:economics*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000191:economics* / Q000458:organization & administration; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000191:economics*; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000191:economics*