Home medical equipment receipt in a home care appropriate population

Objectives: This study examines home medical equipment (HME) receipt for 1, 040 veterans considered appropriate for home health services. Methods: HME receipt was monitored for 12 months using the Department of Veterans Affair s' Prosthetics database. Results: Eighty-three percent received at least on e item; averaging 7.4 items (SD = 6.8). The most common items included comm odes/bath benches (9%), canes/walkers (7%), safety equipment (7%), liquid o xygen (6%), and wheelchairs (6%). Two functional status variables, home car e use and race, correctly classified 69% of HME recipients. Logistic regres sions were run for specific equipment; c-indices ranged from .64 to .75. Ag e, race, income, functional status, risk of hospital readmission, and home care use were significant predictors. Discussion: HME accounted for $4.5 bi llion in sales (16% of total) for medical products in 1996. As the HME mark et continues to expand, the characteristics of HME recipients are necessary to project future HME needs in a growing, elderly population.