POST-HOSPITAL HOME HEALTH-CARE FOR MEDICARE PATIENTS

Medicare Patients in five diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) associated w ith heavy use of post-hospital care discharged from 52 hospitals in 3 cities were followed up at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year to determine the factors associated with their being discharged home with or withou t home health care and the correlates of improvement in their function al status. Models correctly predicted those discharged home from those going to institutions in a range from 54 to 82 percent of cases. The amount of the variance in the change in function for those who went ho me (with or without home health care) explained by the models tested r anged from 19 percent to 73 percent. Total Medicare costs for the pati ents who went home were considerably less in the year subsequent to th e hospitalization compared with those discharged to institutional care .