Colorado health system Sharp Healthcare has created a pre-hospice program named Transitions to help elderly patients to continue care at home and remain out of the hospital. The program enlists social workers and nurses to visit patients at home and to help them manage their chronic diseases and make end-of-life plans. Physicians can help patients regardless of whether they have a palliative prognosis and can provide curative treatment for health issues. As thousands of baby boomers with multiple chronic diseases approach the age of 65, a new approach to home-based palliative care is needed to ensure that treatment is adequate. However, pre-hospice programs such as Transitions have encountered issues of payment, as at present health providers are paid for visits and procedures and hospitals are reimbursed for hosting patients. Home care is still not catered for through legislation, though the Affordable Care Act and other laws are moving towards the provision of home-based care. Transitions is paid for through Medicare, through which is received a set amount of money per member monthly. Transitions began as a $180,000 pilot project with heart failure patients, and its success has seen it expand to cover other progressive illnesses. With reports supporting the provision of palliative care for patients as a cheaper and more effective approach than in-hospital care or no care, home-based care is a viable alternative for preventing hospitalization.
San Diego health system Sharp Healthcare has created a pre-hospice program named Transitions to help elderly patients to continue care at home and remain out of the hospital. The program enlists social workers and nurses to visit patients at home and to help them manage their chronic diseases and make end-of-life plans. Physicians can help patients regardless of whether they have a palliative prognosis and can provide curative treatment for health issues. As thousands of baby boomers with multiple chronic diseases approach the age of 65, a new approach to home-based palliative care is needed to ensure that treatment is adequate. However, pre-hospice programs such as Transitions have encountered issues of payment, as at present health providers are paid for visits and procedures and hospitals are reimbursed for hosting patients. Home care is still not catered for through legislation, though the Affordable Care Act and other laws are moving towards the provision of home-based care. Transitions is paid for through Medicare, through which is received a set amount of money per member monthly. Transitions began as a $180,000 pilot project with heart failure patients, and its success has seen it expand to cover other progressive illnesses. With reports supporting the provision of palliative care for patients as a cheaper and more effective approach than in-hospital care or no care, home-based care is a viable alternative for preventing hospitalization.