Media Release
April 3 2006
A million reasons for chronically ill patients to receive a home visit
A ground breaking University of South Australia study tracking health
outcomes for chronically ill patients for an average of 7.5 years, has
shown that in almost all instances a home-based program of care after
release from hospital can not only improve health outcomes but also
dramatically reduce health care costs.
The results of this unique research were published this week in the prestigious US American Medical Association journal Archive.
A comprehensive follow-up of 528 chronically ill patients who were originally randomised to usual post-discharge care or a home visit by a nurse and pharmacist designed to better understand their health care needs and their overall health management, clearly demonstrated long-term benefits using this approach in most patients.
Lead UniSA researcher, Professor Simon Stewart, who began this study at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in 1997 with his colleague Dr Sue Pearson, said the results built on earlier research with heart failure patients.
“We have already shown that this program of home care was extremely effective for those with chronic heart failure - there are now more than 50 such programs for patients with this condition around Australia based on our research - but this is the first study to show the long-term benefits of providing such care to people with other forms of chronic illness,” Professor Stewart said.
With the major exception of those with chronic lung disease who require more specific health care programs, the home-based intervention was associated with fewer hospital readmissions for stroke, falls, heart attacks and new cases of heart failure over the longer-term.
Prof Stewart said what was extremely attractive about the care approach was its affordability.
This form of home care intervention when added to usual post-discharge care, offers individually tailored care, based on a comprehensive assessment of a person’s medical, psychosocial and even spatial needs in the home – the care goes beyond the medicinal model,” Prof Stewart said.
“Overall, we showed that people with a range of chronic conditions who received the home based intervention spent 14 per cent less time in hospital during study follow-up.
“When accounting for those with chronic lung disease who clearly require more specific programs of care, this figure rose to an impressive 32 per cent reduction in recurrent hospital stay.
“A key question, of course, is whether this program is affordable” he said. “Significantly, the study showed that the total cost of unplanned hospitalisation for patients under usual care was $4.8 million during study follow-up.
“In comparison, the study intervention reduced this amount by $1.5 million.
“This truly affordable and easily applied health care intervention reaffirms the potential improve health outcomes in many rather than a few chronically ill individuals.”
Contact for interviews
Professor Simon Stewart office (08) 8302 1115 mobile 043 8302 111 email simon.stewart@unisa.edu.au
Media contact
- Michèle Nardelli office (08) 8302 0966 mobile 0418 823 673 email michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au