Home Medical Equipment Use in a Home Care Appropriate Population

Weaver FM, Hurder A, Hughes SL, Kubal JD, Ulasevich A, Tir K. Home Medical Equipment Use in a Home Care Appropriate Population. Paper presented at: American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Exposition; 1997 Nov 9; Indianapolis, IN.

Currently, home health care expenditures surpass all other forms of personnel health care expenditures, with an annual growth of 20%. Home medical equipment (HME) is an integral component of home care services. This analysis is part of a larger multi-site randomized trial study of the cost-effectiveness of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Hospital Based Home Care program. Disabled, terminally ill, and COPD and CHF patients at high risk for re-hospitalization are being recruited at 16 VA hospitals. Primary outcomes of interest include all health care utilization and costs for a 12 month follow up period. One component of use is HME. Receipt of HME was less likely if the patient's caregiver was a child or non-relative than a spouse (87%v. 78%; p = .011), and more likely if the patient was impaired in transferring (88% v. 80%; p = .006). When only users are examined, the average user received 7.6 items over a 12 month period. The most frequently prescribed HME included commodes/bath benches (9%), liquid oxygen (8%), canes/walkers (8%), and wheelchairs (6%). With the advent of reimbursement reform in home care, it is important to understand this substantial component of home care use.