United States: Many Americans like getting hospital care at home because they think they will get better faster and stay safe.
Melissa Frasco, a scientist at USC, says patients want the best care but often prefer being at home. Technology helps them work closely with their doctor to get better.
New Research Shows Support for Home Care
The new study which has been published recently in July Journal of the American Medical Association is an outgrowth of the pandemic-era trend.
As reported by U.S News, COVID-19 packed all the hospitals across the country and the authorities temporarily authorized at-home care under a waiver that Congress extended through the end of this year and the extension included a requirement that CMS study the quality of at-home care.
Key Findings from the Study
Totally there are 322 hospitals in 37 states and are allowed to provide at-home care and for the study researchers surveyed those 1,100 participants in the university’s online Understanding America Study about their preferences.
So, 47 percent called hospital-at-home care an acceptable alternative to inpatient care and fewer than 1 in almost 5 had a negative view of it while 36 percent were neutral.
Fifty-six percent of respondents agreed that people recover faster at home than in the hospital — and 21% strongly agreed.
Implications for Future Healthcare Policies
Acceptability of at-home care was consistent across economic groups, health status, insurance coverage, prior hospitalizations or use of telehealth services, the study found.
“Our findings offer valuable information for policymakers and health systems as they navigate a new landscape of post-pandemic patient care,” said study co-author Erin Duffy, director of research training at the Schaeffer Center, said in a USC news release.
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