Is Home-Based Primary Care Right for You?

Primary care provided in the home used to be the standard of care but has long since been moved to the office setting with “house calls” becoming close to extinct. However, partly spurred by changes forced by the pandemic and supported by advances in technology, that trend is reversing, and home-based primary care is being recognized as a strong option for patients who are seriously ill and/or have access issues, such as not being able to get to an office setting easily. Home-based primary care is expanding across the country and is supported by several of the new value-based payment models being piloted by CMS. The higher intensity of hospital-at-home models are also growing with more and more health systems expanding into this field as well. 

So, what does this mean for home-based post-acute care providers like hospices and home health providers? These home-based primary care providers will be looking to partner with organizations that can provide follow-up and supportive care in the home for this seriously ill patient population. Those hospice, non-hospice palliative care, and home health providers who can offer flexibility – and possibly share some risk – stand to develop very strong partnerships serving an expanded patient population. Taking it a step further, home-based providers can explore developing primary care service lines themselves, becoming the true drivers of care for these patients as well as developing a new revenue line while growing patient alignment which opens up many value-based contracting opportunities. As home-based primary care expands, home-based post-acute care providers will be impacted. Now is the time to decide what that impact will be. Will you partner with such providers, or will you look to take on this new role in providing direct care to this seriously ill patient population yourself? Or will you risk potentially losing market to those providers who do? No matter your path, it is important for you to understand home-based primary care and what your options are. Acclivity can help you with this exploration.

Source Material:

“The Uptick in Home-Based Primary Care is a Trend with Staying Power” by Andrew Donlan and posted on May 16, 2023, by Home Health Care News and is accessible at https://homehealthcarenews.com/2023/05/the-uptick-in-home-based-primary-care-is-a-trend-with-staying-power/