Low-Cost, High-Impact Program Helps Keep Nursing Home Residents Out of Hospital
<p>A program designed to help nursing homes identify and manage acute conditions and status changes among residents achieved a 17 percent reduction in hospital admissions when tested among 25 facilities over a recent six-month period, according to results of an evaluation published in the new issue of the <em>Journal of the American Geriatrics Society</em>. </p>
<p>According to the Commonwealth Fund–supported <a href="/publications/journal-article/2011/apr/interventions-reduce-hospitalizations-nursing-homes">study</a>, the Interventions to Reduce Acute Care Transfers program, known as INTERACT II, cost $7,700 per nursing home, on average, over the six-month trial. Projected Medicare savings in a 100-bed nursing home could amount to $125,000 per year, the authors report. </p>
<p>The intervention works by helping nursing home staff identify, assess, and manage residents' medical conditions before they become severe enough to require hospitalization. In addition, advance care planning and palliative care plans offer an alternative to acute hospitalization for residents who are at the end of life. Read <a href="/publications/journal-article/2011/apr/interventions-reduce-hospitalizations-nursing-homes">more</a>. </p>