The American Academy of Home Care Medicine (AAHCM) announces the release of a digital toolkit of educational resources to help payors and providers understand how home-based primary care (HBPC) can help improve quality and reduce costs for seriously ill and home-limited older adults.
The initiative, funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation and West Health, is part of a national awareness campaign that aims to remove barriers to HBPC programs, which provide appropriate primary and palliative care to vulnerable, functionally impaired patients who typically have complex health problems and are unable to visit physicians’ offices.
“These patients represent about 3 percent to 5 percent of Medicare patients, and HBPC can better support them and their families and also rein in health care costs,” says Mindy Fain, past-president of the AAHCM and principal investigator for the project, in a media release from American Academy of Home Care Medicine.
“The Academy is working with the Home Centered Care Institute (HCCI) and other organizations to help payors and providers integrate this critical type of care into their standard array of benefits and services.”
The free toolkit includes a comprehensive set of materials that:
• Explains how HBPC adds value to payers through prevention of avoidable high-cost events while enhancing quality of life for patients and family caregivers;
• Provides examples of successful HBPC programs, including Medicare’s Independence at Home (IAH) Demonstration project, that reduce readmissions, Emergency Department visits, and complications;
• Features a video vignette that showcases how receiving medical care in the home improves individuals’ health and well-being.
“We would like to thank The John A. Hartford Foundation for their support of this vital work. By providing this information to payors, we hope to increase their use of HBPC and implement value-based payment for home care medicine providers,” states Dr Eric DeJonge, president of AAHCM. “These efforts will enable the fast-growing population of home-limited older adults with serious chronic illness to maintain their health and dignity.”
“Leaving the home is a struggle for millions of older adults every day, putting them at risk for poor health outcomes and high health care costs. But we have a solution in home-based primary care,” adds Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN, president of The John A. Hartford Foundation, the release continues. “By offering education on the value of interdisciplinary team care in the home, AAHCM is expanding its availability and ensuring its sustainability as an integral part of the age-friendly health systems we all need and deserve.”
[Source(s): American Academy of Home Care Medicine, PR Newswire]
