ATS Statement on Home Care for Respiratory Disorders

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Also Included In: COPD
Article Date: 15 Jun 2005 - 13:00 PDT

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In the just published "American Thoracic Society Statement on Home Care for Patients with Respiratory Disorders," an ad hoc expert subcommittee pointed out that either reducing the frequency of or the length of hospitalization is the key to lowering the total cost of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) which affects 11.2 million U.S. adults and cost the nation $37.2 billion during 2004.

Published in the second issue for June 2005 of the ATS peer-reviewed American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the new statement points out that home care services can offer great potential for patients with respiratory disorders, especially pediatric and geriatric patients, by providing services and equipment at the place of residence for individuals and families who have needs resulting from acute illness, long-term health conditions, permanent disability, or terminal illness.

In the United States, home care includes home health care that offers episodic, post-acute illness assistance on an intermittent basis; hospice care that is palliative, end-of-life care for the terminally ill; chronic home care assistance directed at private duty aid offered on an hourly basis; and, in the home, the provision of and assistance with medical equipment such as oxygen supplies, respiratory equipment, nebulized medications, infusion therapy, and other in-home medical supplies.

According to the report, the most common diagnosis of patients with respiratory disorders referred for home health care is COPD. Slightly over 11 percent of the 7.6 million patients who received home health care in 1998 had respiratory system disease as their primary diagnosis. COPD and pneumonia are, respectively, the fourth and fifth most frequent reasons for hospital discharge to home care for Medicare patients.

The expert subcommittee pointed out that chest physicians and pulmonologists need to recognize that earlier hospital discharge, or avoidance of hospital care altogether, are important premises upon which home health care referrals can be made.

American Thoracic Society journal news tips for June 2005 (second issue)

For the complete text of these articles, please see the American Thoracic Society Online Web Site at http://www.atsjournals.org. For either contact information or to request a complimentary journalist subscription to ATS journals online, or if you would like to add your name to the twice-monthly journal news e-mail list, contact Cathy Carlomagno at (212) 315-6442, or by e-mail at ccarlomagno@thoracic.org

Contact: Cathy Carlomagno
ccarlomagno@thoracic.org
212-315-6442
American Thoracic Society
http://www.thoracic.org

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