Americans with non-life-threatening issues can get hospital-level treatment at home

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Americans with non-life-threatening issues can get hospital-level treatment at home

Transcript¹

The Biden administration massively expanded hospital-level care at home as part of its strategy to enhance hospital capacity. The Mayo Clinic says it's having an impact.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Arizona is still dealing² with the worst of omicron. Hospitals there have been near capacity for months. Lately, a number of them have been working to free up patient beds by treating people with serious conditions in their own homes. From member station KJZZ in Phoenix³, Katherine Davis-Young reports.

KATHERINE DAVIS-YOUNG, BYLINE⁴: In late 2020, the federal government announced strategies to ease stress on health care facilities, including more flexibility⁵ for hospital-level care at home.

DAVID LEVINE: We went from zero approved hospitals to, a year later, over 185 hospitals all throughout the country have been approved for this care model.

DAVIS-YOUNG: Dr. David Levine with Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston has led research into the effectiveness of acute care at home. Providers can't offer surgery or ICU-level care outside of hospitals, but technology is now good enough that a growing number of hospitals are offering X-rays, bloodwork and many treatments for non-life-threatening conditions on the go. And Levine's research shows patients who get treated at their kitchen table or on their couch have better health outcomes than those in brick-and-mortar medical facilities.

LEVINE: You end up getting readmitted much less often, and you end up lying down much less often and moving around much more when you're at home versus⁶ in the hospital.

DOLORES WIESE: Oh, I tell you.

DAVIS-YOUNG: Patient Dolores Wiese says getting to eat home-cooked meals, see her family and sleep in her own bed makes recovery a lot more comfortable.

WIESE: I like to be active. And to be tied down in bed in a hospital? No. I'll take this any day.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Thirty-four?

TAMI HAMPSON: One-thirty-four.

WIESE: Oh.

HAMPSON: So that's good.

DAVIS-YOUNG: I met Wiese in her apartment in a retirement⁷ community in Phoenix. She was being treated for a skin infection that typically might have kept her in the hospital for a few nights. Nurse Tami Hampson with DispatchHealth rolls in a few suitcases full of medical gear.

HAMPSON: We have all of our equipment here to do all of our exams or draw blood. We could put IVs in. We can...

DAVIS-YOUNG: Another hospital system that began offering at-home care during the pandemic is Mayo Clinic. Mayo's Dr. Michael Maniaci says patients respond really well to virtual doctor visits and regular follow-up calls. But he says for now, the federal government is only paying a lump sum for the custom-tailored care.

MICHAEL MANIACI: There's really no true reimbursement⁸ for that that's built yet in the system.

DAVIS-YOUNG: But Maniaci says everyone will save money in the long run if patients stay healthier. And then there's the issue of space.

MANIACI: Even if we're losing money because we're giving extra services, what's the cost of opening up that hospital bed for a cancer patient or surgical⁹ patient that needs it more?

DAVIS-YOUNG: Across three states, Mayo says it's been able to free up 3,300 hospital bed days by treating patients at home. The challenge, Maniaci says, will be scaling up. But a few private insurers have started joining the government and are paying for in-home care now, too. Humana is one. The company's Dr. Amal Agarwal says Humana is also growing its own in-home care service. The numbers, he says, just makes sense.

AMAL AGARWAL: It can provide good clinical care in the right scenario¹⁰, and it can be done at a lower cost. So I think that there's value there. And it's a lower cost for the member, as well.

DAVIS-YOUNG: The federal permission for hospitals to expand in-home care was meant to be temporary, but providers and now some insurers really want lawmakers to allow it to continue permanently¹¹.

HAMPSON: We'll put another Band-Aid on top of it, but it looks pretty good.

DAVIS-YOUNG: That would be fine with Dolores Wiese back in Phoenix. Her medical visit ends with laughs and hugs.

(LAUGHTER)

DAVIS-YOUNG: For someone who's technically¹² hospitalized, it's clear she's having a great time.

WIESE: The best thing that's happened since running water.

DAVIS-YOUNG: She'd prefer not to be hospitalized again, but if she is, she really hopes it will be in her living room.

For NPR News, I'm Katherine Davis-Young.

(SOUNDBITE OF SLOWERFUL'S "BY THE BOOK")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

6 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

7 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

8 reimbursement   

n.偿还，退还

参考例句：

• He received reimbursement for his travel expenses.由于出差的花费他可以得到公司的补偿。
• Which forms do I need to complete for my travel reimbursement?我需要填什么表来报我的旅费？

9 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

10 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

11 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

12 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。