PATH ALONG History of Readmission Is A Risk Factor

When a patient has a history of hospital readmission, this is the identified risk.  The red flag category is a history of a hospital readmission.  This immediately indicates a need for more than discharge education.  This is a lead indication of a high risk patient for whom additional support may be cost effective.

PATH ALONG is an original Wisconsin model that connects inpatient providers to community staff who support the patient during health system transitions.  PATH ALONG is a three service set designed to reduce readmission frequency. 

1. Inpatient advocacy provides a staff person to accompany the patient on their hospital stay.

2. Temporary help with a scheduled day surgery.  Staff accompany the person to the hospital for the procedure and follow the patient in the home setting until the senior can get by alone.

3. Crisis intervention transitional counseling provides a staff person who helps the family with an immediate and long term care plan.  The focus is to bring needed service in to the person.

PATH ALONG employs a non-medical staff lending an immediate cost effectiveness to the much needed service.  The cost is 20.00 per hour which is paid by the consumer.  The presence of another seems to simplify the prescribed regimen. 

The three clearly defined needs based services establish an easy model to conduct the referral.  Anyone, regardless of educational back ground or employment position could recognize a functional or cognitive deficit that would result in a person benefitting from the services PATH ALONG can provide.

Check out the web site http://www.homecarepath.com/Pages/PRESSRELEASEOriginalWisconsinModelToReduceHospitalReadmissionRates.aspx