Can home care for homebound patients with chronic heart failure reduce hospitalizations and costs?

BACKGROUND: Congestive heart failure (CHF), a common problem in adults, is associated with multiple hospitalizations, high mortality rates and high costs. PURPOSE: To evaluate whether home care for homebound patients with CHF reduces healthcare service utilization and overall costs. METHODS: A retrospective study of healthcare utilization among homebound patients who received home care for CHF from 2012–1015. The outcome measures were number of hospital admissions per month, total number of hospitalization days and days for CHF only, emergency room visits, and overall costs. A comparison was conducted between the 6-month period prior to entry into home care and the time in home care. RESULTS: Over the study period 196 patients were treated by home care for CHF with a mean age of 79.4±9.5 years. 113 (57.7%) were women. Compared to the six months prior to home care, there were statistically significant decreases in hospitalizations (46.3%), in the number of total in-hospital days (28.7%), in the number of in-hospital days for CHF (66.7%), in emergency room visits (47%), and in overall costs (23.9%). CONCLUSION: Home care for homebound adults with CHF can reduce healthcare utilization and healthcare costs.