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.