Medical Home Services
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Institution Affiliations
Medical home services refer to the treatment of patients who do not require facility care or hospitalization. Treatment can either be done by medical professionals or caregivers. The program allows individuals to maintain their usual lifestyle in a home environment, thus maintaining one’s integrity and self-confidence and having the ability to recover fast (Hayashi, 2015). The peculiarities associated with the program include; flexibility since a health caregiver can work for only a few hours throughout the week. There is a good relationship building between caregivers and patients through one on one communication. Additionally, many caregivers are compassionate and patient. The program also allows direct communication with family members to check if there is any improvement required.
Medical home service started in earlier eras, and mostly involved house calls by family doctors. The program was developed at Mt Sinai Medical Center in New York and implemented as a pilot model in the U.S. A Department of veterans. The primary purpose of the program was to provide adequate care and long-term care at home. About 40% of physicians made house calls in the 1930s. In the 1980s the number fell by 1 %. Today most health care providers do not attend patients in multiple settings but organize teams in the sense that they manage a panel of patients in the program (De Jonge et al., 2019). There is also the program’s expansion and includes care to mental health individuals and other patients with complicated diseases.
Patient-centered care encourages shared decision-making and active collaboration between care providers and patients to manage and design a comprehensive care plan. Caregivers treat patients from a clinical, social, emotional, spiritual, mental, and financial perspective (Blount, 2019). The program is very critical as there are transparency and fast delivery of information. Besides, the program ensures respect for family and patient opinions.
References
Blount, A. (2019). Patient-centered primary care: Getting from good to great. Springer.
De Jonge, K. E., & Taler, G. A. (2015). Getting started with home-based medical care. Geriatric Home-Based Medical Care, 11-25. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23365-9_2
Hayashi, J. L., & Leff, B. (2015). Geriatric home-based medical care: Principles and practice. Springer.