News and Market Developments
Modern Healthcare: Rise in Home Infusion Therapy Leads to Cost Savings (5/15) - Patient demand, specialty drug availability and workforce shortages have driven increases in home infusion therapy. Health systems and specialty companies can administer prescription drugs intravenously in a home setting to sidestep overhead fees on brick-and-mortar operations and to reserve clinical space for more acute cases. By moving the patients to the outpatient setting and at home, it allows for us to save chairs in the infusion center and save beds in the inpatient setting, so there are cost savings that way as well.
News Press: Home Health Care a Growing Trend for Seniors (5/14) - John Grant, former state representative and state senator published an article urging seniors to take advantage of hospital at home. The hospital-at-home model has been tested and developed by Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine and Public Health. The medical institution found it is best used primarily to treat older adults by a home health care nurse.
Queen Creek Sun Times: Right at Home Comes to Queen Creek (5/13) - With locations across the nation, Right at Home is an in-home senior care provider that offers a range of services to fit an individual's needs. From companion care to personal care, nursing services and specialty care, their mission is to improve the quality of life for those they serve.
Home Health Care News: Intermountain Healthcare Leaders View At-Home Care As Vital Resource (5/12) - As one of the largest health systems in the country, Intermountain Healthcare has moved mountains to establish its place in the home-based care space. With a number of care-at-home programs under its belt, including home health care, primary care, hospital-at-home and more, the health system is attempting to move the needle with an end goal of delivering cost-effective care services. Home Health Care News recently caught up with Dr. Nathan Starr, medical director of home services, to learn more about Intermountain’s accomplishments in the home, why value-based care is vital to the organization and the challenges it’s seeing in the space.
Healthcare IT News: Augusta University Health Saves $1.1 Million with Home-Based Virtual Care (5/10) - Augusta University Health launched its Virtual Care at Home program in February 2021 as a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through its Virtual Care at Home program, Augusta has been able to show a reduced readmission rate of 7.4 percent. The program itself was able to maintain a low readmission rate, which also improved the overall readmission rate for Augusta University Health to less than 12 percent.
Health Affairs: Nine Health Care Megatrends, Part 2: System Reconfiguration (5/10) - Ezekiel J. Emanuel, a special adviser to the director general of the World Health Organization, released an article discussing 'megatrends' that he believes will characterize US health over the rest of this decade. Trends include hospital at home, workforce, and remote patient monitoring among others.
McKnights Home Care: Home Care Represents 'Longer-Term Opportunity' (5/10) - Humana emphasized its investment in home care during the Bank of America Securities 2023 Healthcare Conference. Humana's CEO, Bruce Broussard sees home care as complementary with primary care, which are both part of the company’s health care arm known as CenterWell.
PR Newswire: Ending the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) Statement from the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) (5/10) - The American Association of Kidney Patents (AAKP) released a statement at the end of the COVID-19 PHE reminding government leaders and health insurance executives that science and data show today is not "a different day" for everyone. AAKP recommends expanding home dialysis options, which increased during COVID-19 as a patient preference and a comparatively safer alternative to in-center hemodialysis, among other recommendations.
McKnights Home Care: How Innovation and Technology are Revolutionizing Senior Care (5/9) - With an already concerning caregiver shortage in many parts of the United States, home care companies are in need of a method by which they can increase efficiency and scale their operations to accommodate our increasing elderly population. Innovations and technology such as remote monitoring, telehealth, and home technology are helping to transform senior care and allows seniors to live in their own homes while receiving care.
PR Newswire: BrightStar Care Receives 2023 Enterprise Champion for Quality Award for Eleventh Consecutive Year (5/9) - BrightStar Care, a member of MHH, was awarded The Joint Commission 2023 Enterprise Champion for Quality Award for the eleventh consecutive year, reinforcing the brand's commitment to the highest standards of quality and safety in home care. BrightStar Care is the only home care organization to achieve this title for more than a decade. Receiving the Gold Seal of Approval® from The Joint Commission means that health care organizations have completed a comprehensive on-site review and precisely follow the standards and requirements established by The Joint Commission.
Health Leaders: Ohio State Executive Says Hospital at Home Has Bright Future (5/8) - The Medicare waiver for 24-hour nursing in hospital-at-home care has been extended until December 2024. Hospital-at-home providers can use this two-year window to prove the programs deliver value. The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center has offered its Hospital Care at Home program, in a partnership with Dispatch Health, since January. "In general, I feel confident that payers will cover this care. The value equation is always going to be the cost at which we provide the care and the quality and outcomes associated with this program," says Rachit Thariani, chief administrative officer for Ohio State's Post-Acute and Home-Based Care Division. "If the health care industry and the folks who are in this space can design and generate that evidence, we can prove that it is comparable to alternative models."
Becker's Hospital Review: Oregon Hospital to Restructure Home Health Services (5/8) - Blue Mountain Hospital District's board of directors unanimously voted to restructure home health services. Hospital officials are working on a plan to increase reimbursement for home health services, which are currently provided by certified nursing assistants who work for the home health department. Under the new plan, nurses from the hospital district's Strawberry Wilderness Community Clinic would provide home health services. The change to the visiting nurse service would enable the hospital to bill Medicare, Medicaid and other payers for time spent traveling to see patients in far away areas in the county in addition to time spent caring for patients, which it cannot do under the current model.
Healthcare IT News: FirstHealth Offers a Powerful Look at Hybrid Telemedicine in Action (5/8) - FirstHealth, a health system based in North Carolina, offers Observation at Home, a simple program that shows how through a combination of in-person visits and telemedicine the health system can care for these patients safely at home. Observation at Home looks to enroll patients who don't quite meet inpatient admission criteria, but also aren't well enough to go home. The Observation at Home program uses telemedicine as the main vehicle to deliver care to stable patients who can safely be treated and monitored from the comfort of their own home via an in-home visit by a paramedic that coincides with a telemedicine video visit by a provider.
Home Health Care News: Home Health Providers Adjusting Operations To Care For More Clinically Complex Patients (5/8) - More patients that can be categorized as clinically complex are being referred to home-based care providers. As a response, providers are making moves to ensure that they’re in a position to deliver appropriate care to these patients. Hamilton Home Health has created different “Max” programs focused on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure (CHF), and diabetes.
Business Wire: Team Select Home Care Announces Strategic Capital Investment from Court Square Capital Partners (5/8) - Team Select Home Care announced a strategic capital investment from Court Square Capital Partners, a middle market-focused private equity firm, to expand in-home care in the post acute space for both pediatric and geriatric patients. Team Select provides solutions to local communities that innovate the home health space. This partnership will help Team Select Home Care address the need for critical and cost-saving home-based care. For additional coverage, see Home Health Care News.
McKnights Home Care: Pennant Focuses on Growing Home Health and Hospice (5/8) - Building on the momentum of the last four quarters, Pennant Group Inc. will keep investing in its home health and hospice operations. These include traditional acquisitions, operational expansions such as branch expansions, strategic partnerships and start-up operations. This multipronged approach provides flexibility to expand and create opportunities for our developing leaders through changing economic cycles.
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