New research indicates house calls can prevent unnecessary emergency room use and 30-day readmissions. For example, Torrance, California's HealthCare Partners Affiliates Medical Group has operated a house call initiative since 2009 for high-risk, recently-discharged patients, and results show that after three months patients were admitted to the hospital less often. Even after they left the program, per-month use and spending continued to fall. Physician-led care teams work with roughly 8,000 patients, most of whom have multiple chronic conditions, and analyze the patients' home environments for any factors that potentially exacerbate risks to their health or safety. Read the full story at FiercePracticeManagement