2017 Home Visit Metrics: House Calls Curb Readmissions and ER Visits

Sea Girt, NJ, February 15, 2017 --(PR.com)-- Seventy percent of healthcare organizations who visit patients in their homes reported either a reduction in hospital readmissions or in ER utilization by that patient population, according to the healthcare publisher's December 2016 Home Visits survey.

The survey also identified three priority populations for home visits: the frail elderly and homebound (69 percent), the medically complex (69 percent), and individuals recently discharged from the hospital (68 percent).

Registered nurses conduct more than half of home visits, respondents said, with ongoing care management the principal focus of those visits.

Download more metrics from the complimentary HINtelligence report, Home Visits in 2017: Opening Door to Enhanced Patient Adherence, Reduced Hospital Utilization at http://www.hin.com/library/registerHomeVisits2017.html

News Facts: HIN's white paper, Home Visits in 2017: Opening Door to Enhanced Patient Adherence, Reduced Hospital Utilization, summarizes December 2016 feedback from 107 hospitals and health systems, health plans, case management organizations and others on their home visit strategies.

This 2016 home visits snapshot also captured the following benchmarks:

- To stratify patients for home visits, 62 percent rely on care manager referrals;

- Once inside the home, the visit is first and foremost about patient and caregiver education, say 81 percent of respondents, with an emphasis on medication reconciliation (80 percent);

- Fifty-nine percent screen at-home patients for social and economic determinants that could negatively impact health, such as a lack of transportation or inability to afford medications;

- Of the total respondents, 87 percent saw medication adherence levels rise for patients visited at home, while 85 percent reported an increase in patient satisfaction;

- One-quarter of respondents conduct home visits for individuals with behavioral health diagnoses;

- Reduced readmissions is the top success measure of home visits programs, report 83 percent of organizations surveyed;

- Fifteen percent report home visits ROI of between 2:1 and 3:1; and

- Patient engagement, including obtaining consent for visits, tied with funding and reimbursement issues as the top challenges of in-home patient visits, say 22 percent.

Download more metrics from the complimentary HINtelligence report, Home Visits in 2017: Opening Door to Enhanced Patient Adherence, Reduced Hospital Utilization at http://www.hin.com/library/registerHomeVisits2017.html

"With payors scrutinizing hospital utilization metrics with an eye toward improving care quality and reducing cost, home visits are an efficient means of managing care for high-risk, high-cost patients. Also, home visits are 'eyes on the ground' to detect social determinants of health that could seriously impact a patient's condition, such as social isolation or sub-standard living conditions."
- Melanie Matthews, HIN Executive VP and COO

For Melanie Matthews's profile, please visit http://www.hin.com/bios.html#mm

Please contact Patricia Donovan to arrange an interview or to obtain additional quotes.

About the Healthcare Intelligence Network - HIN is the premier advisory service for executives seeking high-quality strategic information on the business of healthcare. For more information, contact the Healthcare Intelligence Network, PO Box 1442, Wall Township, NJ 07719-1442, (888) 446-3530, fax (732) 449-4463, e-mail info@hin.com, or visit http://www.hin.com.