More and more health systems are implementing home-care programs and for good reason. Home health offers patients a convenient, safe, and - according to new research - highly effective alternative to traditional care delivery models.
The first randomized controlled trial of U.S. home hospital care for acutely ill patients recently found that substitutive home health reduces costs and utilization of care. The leader of the study, David M. Levine, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Brigham Health and Harvard Medical School, referred to the at-home care program as “one of the best-studied transformational ways of caring for someone that we have in the paper-reviewed literature.”
Here are just a few highlights of the exciting results that came from the study:
- The adjusted mean costs per care episode were 38% lower for home patients than control patients.
- Compared with usual care patients, home patients had fewer laboratory orders, imaging studies, and consultations.
- Readmission rates were 7% for home patients versus 23% for the control group.
These results are exciting, pointing to the efficacy of this kind of care model. Bruce Leff, MD, professor of medicine at The John Hopkins School of Medicine sums it up perfectly: “If we had a drug with that kind of outcome — if hospital-at-home were a drug and not a service delivery model — we would all be sitting on beaches in the Caymans counting our money. But that’s never been our goal. Our goal has been to improve care delivery.”
If this innovative care model has proven to be effective for hospital-level care, could it also work for rehabilitation? We believe so.
An exciting, untapped opportunity for health systems
If you’re looking for a new way to add value to your healthcare system, increase revenue growth, and gain a competitive advantage in the market, delivering high-quality care to patients when and where they need it matters. Rehab-at-homeTM is one great way to make it happen. An alternative to facility-based outpatient care, rehab-at-home brings convenient care to patients in the comfort of their homes.
There are many reasons to pursue a rehab-at-home service line for your health system. Perhaps you lack the internal capacity to manage your patient’s rehabilitation needs. Or, maybe you’re looking for a way to expand reach and access without the cost of more physical rehabilitation centers or reduce referral leakage. Whatever your particular situation or motive, rehab-at-home offers a number of exciting benefits to health systems and the patients they serve.
“We are excited to expand our rehabilitation services with on-demand, in-home physical therapy as an alternative to visiting an outpatient clinic. By partnering with Luna, we’re able to bring safe, convenient and high-quality care to people in their homes, removing the barriers to care of time and transportation and making it as easy as possible to complete their treatment plan.” - Scott D. Boden, MD, Director of the Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center and Vice President for Business Innovation for Emory Healthcare
Luna partners with leading health systems, like Emory Healthcare, to enable rehab-at-home delivery to patients. Our partners receive all the benefits of becoming early adopters of this transformational care model without the heavy lifting or risk. Health systems can establish a rehab-at-home program with no investment in staff, equipment, infrastructure, logistics, or coordination, all within a matter of weeks.
How to get started with rehab-at-home
If you’re looking for a way to provide physical therapy to patients at home, Luna can help lower the barrier to entry. We provide a true turnkey service, giving you the power to expand the footprint of your rehabilitation services fast. In fact, once you decide to partner with Luna, this brand new service line will be ready to launch in 60 days or less.
Delivering this proven, transformational model of care is possible. Luna makes it easy. If you’re interested in learning more about how you can improve profitability and reduce referral leakage with on-demand physical therapy, contact Luna today.
