Unplanned Hospital Admissions: How to Support Clients and Reduce Re-Admission Rates

When working with in-home clients, caregivers do everything in their power to avoid unplanned hospital trips and admissions. An unplanned hospital admission can be devastating for patients, their families and caregiver facilities, causing family stress, complications and increased costs.

It’s the mission of Care Indeed and our partners to help avoid unplanned hospital admissions for our clients. These efforts include providing skilled caregivers, professional development and training for our staff and educating our clients and their families about fall prevention, medication management, wound management and the importance of delivering high-quality in-home care.

Regardless, unplanned hospital admissions still occur. In fact, in 2004, more than one million home health care patients were hospitalized in an unplanned setting, ultimately increasing by 28 percent in 2006, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Working together with healthcare systems, case managers, managed facilities and families, we can work together to help curb readmission rates.

A Look at Home Health Research

Recent studies have found that there are common characteristics of home health care patients who are more likely to experience unplanned hospital admissions. According to a study published in the Western Journal of Nursing Research, unplanned hospital admissions are mostly due to an acute exacerbation of chronic diseases. And, evidence further suggests that increased knowledge of risk factors, careful home health monitoring and provider communication with the family and medical resources could prevent many unplanned hospital admissions.

Many experts conclude that approximately 25 percent of all unplanned hospital admissions are preventable. Paying close attention to risk factors, such as the length of a home health care episode, development of a new problem or illness, falling accidents and wound deterioration can help with prevention, suggests the National Association for Home Care & Hospice and the Visiting Nurses Association of America. Working Together to Identify Best Practices

In order to curb readmission rates and unplanned hospital admissions, it’s important for resources and organizations to join together. The collaborate effort between health care providers, caregivers, families and patients can significantly impact the quality of care and quality of life for our clients.

According to the Briggs National Quality Improvement and Hospitalization Reduction Study by the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, best practices to help reduce unplanned hospital admissions include the following:  24-Hour On-Call Nursing Coverage  Management Support  Front-Loading Visits  Fall Prevention Programs  Case Management  Medication Management  Special Support Services  Patient/Caregiver Education  Disease Management  Positive Physician/Hospital Relationships  Safety and Risk Assessments  Data-Driven Services

Care Indeed is committed to partnering with our clients, their families, local and national organizations, medical resources and educators to improve in-home health care practices. We believe that collaborating with helpful resources only enhances the care we provide to our valued clients.

Finding the Support and Care You Need

A physical illness or disease can affect individuals at any stage of life and age. In some cases, the symptoms may be mild, but many disorders, can also be life threatening and lead to an unplanned hospital admission.

Support and care is essential at the onset of any type of discomfort for your aging parent or loved one. And, a team effort ensures that you – or a loved one – will navigate chronic conditions in comfort. It’s important to learn as much about the symptoms and care needed to help support your loved ones. Tap into resources from local and national organizations to boost your knowledge of how the disorder affects everyone involved and to also identify coping skills. In addition, lean on caregivers, such as the qualified staff from Care Indeed, to help with daily living, while coordinating palliative care.

Life with any type of illness is challenging and learning how to accept the challenge is the first step in living life. While you may struggle with grief and loss when coping with the symptoms as a patient, caregiver or family member, the support you need is only a click away.

Care Indeed is committed to providing you the support and in-home caregivers who understand your challenges and daily struggles at work and home. Learn more about how to get the support you need today.