How Technology Can Improve Home Care

Keeping track of hospital visits is crucial in ensuring that clients receive the necessary care and attention they need. Advancements in home health care software provide an excellent opportunity to utilize the potential in tracking hospital visits. This enables home care agencies to monitor and optimize care plans more efficiently. By incorporating tracking tools in their home care software, agencies can ensure seamless transitions and consistent continuity of care, reducing the risk of readmissions and improving overall care coordination. This ultimately leads to better health outcomes for clients and further separates your agency from the competition.

A notable finding among seniors is the presence of avoidable visits to the emergency room, which can impose a financial burden on hospitals. Home care agencies tracking their clients’ ER visits closely and presenting them to hospitals can demonstrate that they are valuable referral partners. Hospitals can avoid unnecessary readmissions by referring patients to reliable home care agencies after emergency department visits.

To provide some context, the federal government provides funding and reimbursement to hospitals for senior treatments through the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP). There are specific reasons and conditions for which the government is concerned, such as Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Heart Failure (HF), and more. If a senior goes to the hospital for one of these reasons, the hospital wants to be reimbursed. If the hospital provides proper care and the senior doesn’t return within a specified time period for the same reason, the reimbursement will be as expected. However, if the hospital doesn’t provide adequate care and the senior returns, the reimbursement will be lower. According to a research article titled “A Reduction in Readmissions Results in Net Savings for Most Hospitals: An Examination of Medicare’s Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program” from the peer-reviewed journal Medical Care Research and Review, for an average hospital, preventing one extra readmission can lead to reimbursement gains of $10,000 to $58,000.

Again, home care agencies can play a vital role in ensuring seniors receive proper care to prevent hospital readmissions. By regularly checking on their clients, ensuring medication compliance, healthy eating, bathing, exercise, and other factors that contribute to better health outcomes, home care agencies can provide cost-effective care compared to hospital visits. “Using a home care agency can be a much more affordable option compared to going to a hospital later on,” says John Atkinson.

In summary, the entire healthcare continuum is incentivized to reduce hospital visits. Home care software can track hospital admissions and reasons for seniors receiving care at home care agencies. Documenting home care is invaluable, and this information can be reported to hospitals, demonstrating the effectiveness of home care agencies in preventing readmissions. Furthermore, agencies can leverage a home care software’s custom forms to create comprehensive assessments. These assessments can include a risk assessment of re-hospitalizations, providing an additional layer of insight and proactive care management.