Nursing home residents are routinely sent to hospitals, but according to a new study nearly a third of those hospitalizations could be avoided if nursing home doctors were on hand to prevent illnesses from escalating. Trips to the hospital are extremely stressful for elderly patients who are already frail and dealing with medical problems on a daily basis.
According to the Boston Globe, there's a growing movement to cut down on the number of unnecessary hospitalizations by improving the quality of medical care in nursing homes. One Massachusetts nursing home has turned to telemedicine in order to improve access to doctors, while others are using nurse practitioners to cover gaps in care. In addition, a study in Canada found that by providing medical staff with standard instructions for treating common illnesses like pneumonia, hospitalization were reduced by 50 percent.
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