Report: 18-month Ohio home-care project yield 6% drop in rehospitalizations

A new report commissioned by the Ohio Council for Home Care & Hospice has found that an 18-month effort by Ohio home-care providers has reduced by 6 percentage points the number of patients returning to the hospital after being discharged(Source: "Revolving door for patients slows at hospitals," the Columbus Dispatch, Aug. 2, 2012)

The report (pdf, 64 pages) details efforts by 70 home-care agencies in Ohio that participated in Ohio Move to Improve Campaign for Excellence, which launched in January 2011. According to Robert Fazzi of Massachusetts-based Fazzi Associates, which wrote the report, much of the reduction was a result of efforts to track the reasons why patients were re-admitted to the hospital and then identify trends so that home-care workers could adjust their care.

“This is one of those rare instances where we can actually provide better care for patients and save tax dollars,” said Kathleen Anderson, president of the Ohio Council for Home Care & Hospice.