The Incidence And Associated Factors Of Home Health Care Patients On Admission, Readmission & Amp; Emergency Department Visit

Abstract

A form of care known as home healthcare (HHC) is delivered at home by medical personnel under a doctor's supervision. HHC is offered in Saudi Arabia in accordance with international norms and within the parameters of Islamic social mores and customs. Reducing hospitalizations and emergency service use has been the main objective of HHC services. However, there is insufficient knowledge regarding the hospital and emergency service admission rates of HHC patients.

Aim:

To investigate the incidence of hospital admissions, readmissions, and emergency department visits among home health care patients at King Abdullah Medical City.

Methods:

This was a retrospective cohort study conducted among adult patients receiving HHC services by HHC-King Abdullah Medical City in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, between January 2022 and December 2022. Patient data were obtained from the health information system, including HHC patients' data for 2022.

Results:

A total of 977 patients were enrolled, with a mean±SD age of 68.39±14.47. Females represented 60.4% of the patients. The rates of hospital and emergency admissions were 29.2% and 45%, respectively, and unplanned visits accounted for 62.6%. The primary diagnosis of the patients was cardiac disease (27.9%), and the main reason for admission was pain in 11.7%. An unplanned admission was significantly associated with the duration between the hospital visit and the last HHC visit (P=0.0001).

Conclusion:

The admission rate for HHC patients in the emergency department was high, with a high prevalence of unplanned visits. Such unplanned visits were linked with longer duration since the last HHC visit. HHC patients with chronic diseases tended to visit HHC.