Effects of a Home Care Program in Geriatrics on the Number of Hospitalizations and Emergency Room Visits

Objective: To evaluate the effects of the home care program of the Intellectus Center of Memory and Cognition in a group of multimorbid and dependent patients with regards to the number of hospitalizations and emergency room visits, before the program and one year after the follow-up. Design: Longitudinal study of before and after type. Participants: Patients of the home care program of the Intellectus Center of Memory and Cognition, who met inclusion criteria: attended at home by geriatrician, aged 65 or over, chronic diseases or dementia, cancer or others, Barthel index less than 60, minimum follow up of one year in home care program. Main measurements: Number of hospitalizations and emergency room visits, before and after the year of follow up. Results: The average of hospitalizations decreased from 1.91 (SD: 1.82; 95% CI: 1.50-2.32) to 0.96 (SD: 1.43; 95% CI: 0.66 to 1.26) with statistical significance (p = 0.002). The average number of emergency room visits decreased significantly (p = 0.0003) from 2.20 (SD: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.77-2.63) to 1.20 (SD: 1.69; 95% CI: 0.82-1.58). Conclusions: A reduction in the number of emergency room visits and hospital admissions was evidenced with statistically significant difference.