Briefly Noted
Briefly Noted
• Given the choice, 54% of older Americans with acute illnesses would prefer to be cared for in a hospital instead of in their homes, even if the two options provide the same outcome, according to a new study released by Yale University’s School of Medicine. The study’s principal investigator, Terri Fried, said the finding of the study "dispels the myth that older persons are more interested in comfort than in cure." According to the study, home is a viable option for seniors only if it provides outcomes equally as good as the hospital. But if the home and hospital provide the same outcomes, many older people would still prefer to be cared for in the hospital, the study found. Those who said they would prefer hospital care were most likely to change their minds if physician housecalls were provided and if their doctors thought home care would be a better option for them. According to the study, there is a possibility that newly developing systems of care might not be meeting the needs and preferences of older patients.
• Home care revenues in FY99 were estimated at more than $42 billion, according to a recent report, U.S. Home Health Care Markets, from Frost & Sullivan (Mountain View, CA). Labor and nursing services accounted for about 95% of that total, the report stated. According to the report, as the number of elderly in the country increases, so does the demand for home care services, and advancing technologies are allowing more patients to receive that type of care. The firm’s research indicates that labor and nursing services will continue to dominate revenue production throughout the forecast period, which is 1996-2006, while the product segments of DME, respiratory equipment, and infusion pumps will together collect only about 5% of total revenues by 2006.
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