Fewer Hospitalizations For Diabetic Veterans Using VA’s Home-Based Care

For older U.S. military veterans with multiple chronic conditions, including diabetes, taking advantage of home-based primary care from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was linked to fewer hospitalizations, in a recent study.  Some VA medical centers in the U.S. offer home-based primary care, in which a physician supervises a health care team that provides services in the veteran’s home, rather than through regular clinic visits.  Patients are cared for “by a multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists and psychologists,” said lead author Dr. Samuel T. Edwards of the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System in an email to Reuters Health.

The study didn’t address why home-based primary care was linked to fewer preventable hospitalizations. But Edwards said the program could potentially improve compliance with medications and ensure that patients understood their care plans. It could also improve coordination of social and support services, referrals and specialty care.

Edwards and his team used national data on all veterans over age 67 who received a prescription for diabetes medication in 2005 or 2006, had at least one more chronic condition, and were fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries. All the veterans had been hospitalized at least once in 2005 and 2006 and primarily used a VA medical center offering home-based primary care.  Of the 56,608 veterans in this category, 1,978 enrolled in the home-based primary care program, with at least two home healthcare visits between 2006 and 2010...