Using Home Care to Improve Outcomes and Lower Costs

In most cases, home care takes place with little direct contact between the supervising physician and the rest of the home care team. In this article, I hope to demystify the process, review key features of Medicare reimbursement for home health agencies and how it may affect physicians, and outline some strategies for using home care to improve outcomes and reduce hospitalization. Home is where most of us prefer to be treated, and we should make our best efforts to honor that preference.1

THE PROCESS OF MEDICARE HOME HEALTH AGENCY CARE

When the physician refers a homebound M...