Revisiting treatment in the home

In the past few years, the notion of home treatment has found new currency. This article reviews psychiatric nursing's roles and interest in this subj ect. Based on articles written more than 30 years ago, the issue of home tr eatment is examined from the standpoint of psychiatric nursing's particular talents for this modality and the "fit" of home treatment to the education of nurses. The advantages of home treatment are discussed, as are the purp oses for choosing this intervention. Studies of home visiting by nursing re searchers in other specialty areas are briefly summarized. Cost-effectivene ss has been shown in all this work, but in most cases this transitional car e has not been built into payment structures. The author continues to belie ve that treatment in the home is a natural and useful adjunct to psychiatri c nursing, but its use will depend on the reimbursement system and, even mo re importantly, on the interest of psychiatric nurses in this modality of t reatment. Copyright (C) 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company.