Post by Logan on Jun 12, 2016 2:22:41 GMT -6
Looking for ways to save money and improve care, Medicare officials are returning to an old-fashioned idea: house calls.
But the experiment, called Independence at Home, is more than a nostalgic throwback to the way medicine was practiced decades ago when the doctor arrived at the patient’s door carrying a big black bag. Done right and paid right, house calls could prove to be a better way of treating very sick, elderly patients while they can still live at home.
“House calls go back to the origins of medicine, but in many ways I think this is the next generation,” said Dr. Patrick Conway, who heads the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, which oversees Independence at Home.
In the first year of the experiment, Housecall Providers of Portland, Ore., which had been operating at a loss, saved Medicare an average of almost $13,600 for each patient in the pilot project. Its share of the savings was $1.2 million. The house calls practice at MedStar Washington Hospital in Washington, D.C., cut the cost of care an average of $12,000 per patient.
Read more: www.heraldtimesonline.com/news/nation/a-return-to-house-calls-could-be-a-money-saver/article_ecffb688-839f-5dd9-abc0-41e0dec2b8aa.html
But the experiment, called Independence at Home, is more than a nostalgic throwback to the way medicine was practiced decades ago when the doctor arrived at the patient’s door carrying a big black bag. Done right and paid right, house calls could prove to be a better way of treating very sick, elderly patients while they can still live at home.
“House calls go back to the origins of medicine, but in many ways I think this is the next generation,” said Dr. Patrick Conway, who heads the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, which oversees Independence at Home.
In the first year of the experiment, Housecall Providers of Portland, Ore., which had been operating at a loss, saved Medicare an average of almost $13,600 for each patient in the pilot project. Its share of the savings was $1.2 million. The house calls practice at MedStar Washington Hospital in Washington, D.C., cut the cost of care an average of $12,000 per patient.
Read more: www.heraldtimesonline.com/news/nation/a-return-to-house-calls-could-be-a-money-saver/article_ecffb688-839f-5dd9-abc0-41e0dec2b8aa.html