Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare traditional care, home care, and clinic-based home care on five c rite ria : (1) the percentage of re-entry to the hospital, (2) the length of stay upon re-entry, (3) the cost of home care, (4) the level of care, and (5) the Diabetic Standards of Care. One hundred and f if t y patients of a Hospital District who were in one of three programs of home care were studied. Patients in the traditional care (group 1) received traditional outpatient care through the Hospital District clinic system. Patients in home care (group 2) were referred from the Hospital District to the Visiting Nurse Association for home care, and continued to receive outpatient services at the Hospital District clinics. Patients in the clinic - based home care program (group 3) were referred to the Visiting Nurse Association and were followed for outpatient services by the Hospital District. The data collection was completed after the six-month treatment period, utilizing (1) a Discharge Data Inventory and (2) a Diabetic Standards of Care. Data analysis of the percentage of re-entry and the length of stay upon re-entry revealed no differences. A composite of all three components of each patient's total cost statement revealed significant differences. The VNA care and the re-entry costs were most significant in the individual analyses. The cost of the clinic-based home care program did not exceed traditional VNA care. The level of care differed among the three groups, with the clinic - based home care providing more preventive care than did traditional care or home care. The quality of care rendered to diabetics was higher in clinic-based home care than the other in traditional care or home care. ...
Lockhart, Melissa Candy Stevens (1979). A comparative analysis of traditional care, home care, and clinic-based home care. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University. Libraries. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /DISSERTATIONS -151733.