The Opportunity
Home-based primary care (HBPC) can be an effective way for seniors, especially those with multiple chronic conditions, to receive comprehensive primary care services in their home. Home-based primary care offers more time for patients and their providers to assess the home environment and may defer or eliminate the need for care in institutionalized settings. Successful home-based primary care programs have been shown to reduce Medicare costs by up to 20 percent, with the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services showing savings of $3,070 per patient through its Independence at Home Demonstration, saving $25 million in a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation project. We are actively involved in identifying new ways to advance HBPC as there are a growing number of seniors who would greatly benefit from this model of care but for whom access is not readily available. In addition, appropriate payment policies are also needed to incentivize more healthcare professionals to join this field.
Our Goal
We are focused on enabling new ways to create a healthcare system that puts seniors’ needs first and improves access to high-quality, affordable healthcare for our nation’s aging population.
Taking Action
Policy & Advocacy
Medicare and Medicaid
We are working with national leaders and policymakers to leverage the data from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s successful Independence at Home Demonstration, which we hope will lead to a new Medicare benefit for the most chronically ill seniors in our country so they can age successfully in a place of their choosing.
Research
Medical House Calls
In one collaboration with the MedStar Washington Hospital Center’s Medical House Calls Program, the Institute is determining how to take a successful program and help it reach increased numbers of patients with a sustainable infrastructure.
Collaboration
Home-based Primary Care and Palliative Care Registry
We have also collaborated with leading geriatricians and palliative care physicians from University of California San Francisco and Johns Hopkins University to launch a National Home Based Primary Care & Palliative Care Registry that will provide clinicians with a way to assess and improve upon the quality of care they are delivering, while also engaging in federal Quality Payment Programs.
Research Collaborators
MedStar Washington Hospital Center
Home Centered Care Institute
HCCI'S mission is to improve the accessibility and quality of care available to medically complex patients and their caregivers, and to reduce overall health care costs by advancing the practice of Home Centered Care.
The John A. Hartford Foundation
The John A. Hartford Foundation invests in aging experts and practice innovations that transform how the care of older adults is delivered. Since 1982, The John A. Hartford Foundation has awarded more than $565 million in grants to enhance the health and well-being of older people.
Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) at Mt. Sinai
The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) is a national organization dedicated to increasing the availability of quality care for people living with a serious illness. As the nation’s leading resource in its field, CAPC provides health care professionals and organizations with the training, tools, and technical assistance necessary to redesign care systems that effectively meet this need.
Publications and Resources
West Health provides a variety of published reports, findings and data, as well as resources that are free and available for use.
Home-Based Primary Care News
September 11, 2020
West Health CEO and President Shelley Lyford interviewed on ideaXme
March 11, 2019
Join us at the 2019 Aging in America Conference
October 29, 2018
Press Release: AAHCM Launches Educational Initiative to Demonstrate the Value of Home-Based Primary Care to Payers and Providers
West Health does not accept unsolicited business plans or proposals.