TeleHomecare: A Payor's Perspective

Abstract

E Budget Act (BBA) of 1997 to control costs of health care in all environments have focused attention on TeleHomecare programs. TeleHomecare as defined in this article is the use of remote interactive technologies to provide home health care services at remote locations. A physician, nurse, therapist, social worker, or other member of the home health multidisciplinary team can “beam up” their patients over a variety of telecommunications connections, including an ordinary telephone line. The home health provider can accomplish the assessment, intervention, follow-up care, and/or care planning without the patient or provider traveling. As long as hands-on care is not required, TeleHomecare has the potential to provide a practical solution to a growing problem, which is limited resources. The number of home care visits increased from 70 million in 1990 to 306 million in 1997, and the cost of Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil 1999;5(3):66–69 © 1999 Thomas Land Publishers, Inc. SCALATING DEMANDS for access to quality home health care and the mandate from the Balanced providing hospice home care increased from $112 million in 1987 to $2.1 billion in 1997. The current nursing shortage has no end in sight, so most newspapers, health-related journals, and the Internet offer previously unheard of incentives to entice home health care nurses. Projections indicate that within the next 15 years one out of every four people will be over 65 years old. This age group is the largest consumer of home health care services. “Each year the US spends over $1.5 trillion on healthcare; the Federal Medicare program alone treats 38 million senior citizens at an annual cost of $200 billion....” The number of referrals to home health agencies (HHAs) is expected to continue to sky-