Referrals to home health care, including physical therapy and skilled nursing, could potentially provide support and help achieve improved recovery for COVID-19 patients, according to a study published recently in Annals of Internal Medicine.
In the study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing), data from more than 1,400 COVID-19 patients admitted to home health care after hospital discharge describes home visit care and recovery extent.
According to the researchers, 94% of the patients discharged to home health care achieved statistically significant improvements in symptom burden and functional outcomes and 87% had no adverse events, per a media release from University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.
“Our findings suggest that acute care providers might carefully consider which COVID-19 survivors would benefit from home health care after hospitalization. A decision support tool to identify general hospitalized patients for home health care referral may be helpful.”
— lead investigator Kathryn H. Bowles, PhD, RN, FAAN, FACMI, Professor of Nursing and van Ameringen Chair in Nursing Excellence at Penn Nursing
[Source(s): University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, EurekAlert]
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