Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Address correspondence to: Robin A. Homebound seniors suffer from high levels of functional impairment and are high-cost users of acute medical services. This article describes a 7-year experience in building and sustaining a physician home visit program.
The House Calls for Seniors program was established in The team includes a geriatrician, geriatrics nurse practitioner, and social worker. The program hosts trainees from multiple disciplines. The team provides care to patients annually.
Consistent with the program goals, primary care, specialty care, and emergency department visits declined in the year after enrollment, whereas access and quality-of-care targets improved.
An academic physician house calls program in partnership with a healthcare system can improve access to care for homebound frail older adults, improve quality of care and patient satisfaction, and provide a positive learning experience for trainees. There are at least 1 million individuals aged 65 and older who are permanently homebound. From to , the number of reimbursable home visits increased from approximately 1. Homebound patients tend to be the frailest of the frail, with high levels of functional impairment.
These patients are typically nursing home eligible but are at higher risk for inadequate care because of continued residence in the community.
