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Patient Classification in Home Health Care: Are We Ready?
Author(s) -
Cox Cheryl L.,
Wood Joan E.,
Montgomery Andrew C.,
Smith Patricia C.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
public health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.471
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1525-1446
pISSN - 0737-1209
DOI - 10.1111/j.1525-1446.1990.tb00625.x
Subject(s) - reimbursement , medical diagnosis , medicine , health care , agency (philosophy) , nursing , public health , outcome (game theory) , home health , case mix index , resource use , resource (disambiguation) , family medicine , computer network , computer science , philosophy , mathematics , mathematical economics , epistemology , pathology , natural resource economics , economics , economic growth
This longitudinal descriptive study retrospectively profiled the acutely ill patient in home health care and explored the utility of using patient record data in predicting agency resource use and patient outcome. The findings suggest that those variables traditionally relied on for reimbursement qualification and as components of patient‐classification schemes may not be wholly adequate to explain resource use and patient outcome in the home health setting. Professional nursing judgment of the patient's prognosis was found to be the most sensitive variable predicting outcome. Selected diagnoses and self‐care capacity of the patient were the major predictors of resource use. Suggestions are offered for further studies that may move public health nursing more quickly toward the development of consistent and accurate home health care case mix measures.