The goal of the assignment is to identify an issue worth analyzing and offering a helpful solution. The focus includes the nature of the issue, to better understand why a certain solution would be suitable to combat it. The scope encompasses such aspects as the need for change, the necessary resources, and the possible implications. The following essay will review the need to implement an in-home assessment team consisting of a nurse and a paramedic to assess the needs of a patient after admission and discharge from the hospital.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought attention to the topic of telehealth and in-home care. While this crisis has indeed emphasized the need for these measures, the latter is more underdeveloped than the former. This is because there are currently few programs designed for health at home due to concerns regarding safety, payers’ consent to such services, and time constraints. This accentuates the dire necessity to implement proper in-home care.
Unfortunately, there is a set of rather severe complications surrounding that issue. Primarily, it is the fact that the need for health at home was reserved specifically for the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, after medical offices have been opened, the amount of in-home care visits has experienced a decline (Jacobs & Eggbeer, 2021). Another problem is that this measure is preserved for extremely rare cases and has insufficient patient acceptance. If the issue is not addressed, there are multiple risks involved in the matter. First, telehealth is insufficient for measures such as blood tests and diagnoses that require in-person consultations (Watson, 2020). Second, this puts multiple groups at risk, including the elderly and people with heart failure. Third, some services may not be covered by a patient’s insurance, forcing them to pay out of their pocket.
However, if the issue is addressed, this will greatly benefit the aforementioned groups. The measures taken to combat it may help the medical field progress further. It could help decrease the costs related to healthcare, thus granting equity to its users. Finally, this could lead to the creation of new technologies that could help medical professionals in the process. That way, the possible benefits of addressing the issue accentuate the need for a solution.
A possible solution for this situation would be implementing a proper hospital-at-home program after discharge, involving both paramedics and nurses. They could assess the patient’s condition and tell them about plans for their therapy, medication, and education. This measure would require attention from various health leaders, stakeholders, and policymakers. It is a necessary solution, since, as mentioned earlier, there are no programs that could make health at home widespread, and telehealth nurse calls can be insufficient in multiple cases.
Besides obtaining support from the aforementioned groups, this measure would require other resources. It would require a significant membership base of patients for this action to be supported by healthcare services (Klein, n. d.). Moreover, the possible obstacles related to equity and ethics need to be addressed in the process of implementing this solution. It needs to avoid the same gaps that ordinary healthcare has regarding caring for racial and ethnic minorities, as well as the accessibility and quality of said care (Balatbat et al., 2021).
Finally, this action will require specific criteria for patient eligibility, in-home care guidelines, and adapting existing facility measures to the patient’s homes. That way, this solution could become more effective and combat the problem with fewer obstacles and drawbacks.
References
Balatbat, C., Kadakia, K. T., Dzau, V. J., & Offodille, A. C. (2021). No Place Like Home: Hospital at Home as a Post-Pandemic Frontier for Care Delivery Innovation. NEJM Catalyst, 1-6. Web.
Jacobs, M. O., & Eggbeer, B. (2022). Have hospital-at-home programs finally come of age? HFMA. Web.
Klein, S. (n.d.). “Hospital at home” Programs improve outcomes, and lower costs but face resistance from providers and payers. Commonwealth Fund. Web.
Watson, S. (2020). Telehealth: The advantages and disadvantages. Harvard Health Publishing. Web.