Home-Based Primary Care: How The Modern Day “House Call” Improves Outcomes, Reduces Costs, And Provides Care Where It’s Most Often Needed

The numbers get our attention: More than 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day, with the 80-and-older segment growing the fastest and more likely to be homebound or home-limited; the number of people ages 65 and older will more than double between 2010 and 2050, causing the number of homebound and home-limited patients to rise even higher; and only about 12 percent of the nation’s two million home-limited patients currently receive home-based primary care. 

But when you look behind the numbers at the patient stories, home-based primary care goes from being a compelling concept to a “no brainer.” 

Like the 50-year-old man who suffered a brain injury from a motor vehicle accident. He’s bedridden and completely dependent on his 81-year-old mother and other caregivers for support. Without home-based primary care, his only access to primary health care would be via an ambulance to the hospital.