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Hospital at Home: The Future of Health Care in Your Living Room By Beth Baker
Jim Petersen, 83, who lives alone in an assisted living community outside Denver, recently had pneumonia. But rather than be admitted to the hospital, he was offered another choice: hospital-level treatment in his home.
In-home visits "invert the relationship" between doctor and patient, he adds. In a hospital, the patient wears a gown and lies in a bed while doctors do rounds. In contrast, Diaz is invited to enter the patient's home. During an appointment with Petersen, the two discovered they both loved fishing and hunting and shared roots in northern Illinois. Being in a patient's home "humanizes the patient and the provider," Diaz says. "It makes the ability to connect with a person that much easier, and it's important clinically, determining a plan of care that will work in that context."
Being in a patient's home "humanizes the patient and the provider," Diaz says.
Petersen didn't hesitate. "In plain English, there's no place like home," he says. "You can get good care in a hospital, but you never sleep really good." In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a growing number of older patients are more eager than ever to avoid hospitalization. Depending on their condition, many can receive the full complement of professional services in their home, paid for by Medicare as if they were in the hospital. In Petersen's case, nurses and physician assistants came to his home to monitor him and administer antibiotics. "With the technology today, they can take x-rays and EKGs and blood work right here in my apartment," he says. "They were just great. I stayed here and recovered." His physician, Dr. Manny Diaz, used to work in a hospital, but is now medical director with Advanced Care-Denver. "I believe [this] will be the future of health care, moving as much as we can effectively and safely into people's homes to provide comfort at a lower cost," Diaz says.
Not all patients are eligible for home care, such as those experiencing chest pain, stroke symptoms, severe abdominal pain or drug overdoses. Dozens of other common conditions, though, including congestive heart failure and urinary tract infections, can be treated at home. As technologies advance and as people age who are comfortable with computers and cell phones, home-based delivery of medical care is likely to grow, especially if CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) continues to fund acute care at home, say practitioners.
Photo credit: Nicholas Orchard Read more of this story on Next Avenue.org
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