Blogs

Daren - why stop at 31 days? Because to exceed that amount effects the hospital budget? Why not 60 - 120 - 365 day goals - cut those admissions - use the home as the point of care - get the resources to the patients that need the most care 'at the home' where they want to be. My opinion the 'restructure of medicine' needs to be extensive - where its done - who goes to the hospital for what reason - move resources to the home to the patient - attend to the home issues that get them out of control. These types of efforts would vastly diminish utilization - which is the real thing that needs to happen to make the math work out with the new budgets.

Bruce,
This change in healthcare is a challenge for us all. It seems with situations such as this we need to think outside the box & figure out how we do this better...together. For too long we've been working in silos rather than developing purposeful relationships.
Hospitals send their O2 patients to homecare companies with the expectation that the patients need will be met with excellent customer service. However, this is not always the reality. Instead, case managers pick a company for their convenience due to their heavy workload, knowing there may be concerns with the quality of service delivered or possibly the homecare company receives inadequate information from the discharging facility.
Could we create a better design & help each other out? I'd rather establish business relations with a company that will not only meet the needs of the customer but also work to build a rapport with the referring facility & provide feedback. We are all concerned with the readmissions & need to keep the patients out for 31 days. During a home setup, you may notice barriers in the home that could compromise the patients health & increase the risk of readmission. Better collaborative communication keeping the patient as the primary focus.
If you & your company are quick to report back a concern, as a standard practice, that would allow a RT, care manager, visiting nurse, or transitions of care person to go to the home and address the situation, I'd be more inclined to recommend your company for more business. Times have changed for us all but if we work together, we will figure out a successful solution. I routinely ask the homecare companies to reinforce the same patient education, we provide in the hospital, when they are in the home. We provide the education materials to the patient so there is not expense to the homecare company.
Hang in there, we can make great things happen!!