IHI Report Calls for Improved Home Care Safety
The delivery of home care is fraught with safety concerns, according to a new report from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).
No Place Like Home: Advancing the Safety of Care in the Home offers recommendations on how to improve home care safety, including the following five guiding principles:
- Self-determination and person-centered care are fundamental
- Every organization providing home care must create and maintain a safety culture
- A robust learning and improvement system is necessary to achieve and sustain gains in safety
- Effective team-based care and coordination of care are critical
- Policies and funding models must incentivize the provision of high-quality, coordinated care
“Home health care organizations as well as hospice and palliative care providers have started to lay a foundation for promoting safety in healthcare,” said Tejal K. Gandhi, MD, MPH, CPPS, the IHI’s chief clinical and safety officer, in a release. “For example, hospice and palliative care programs effectively coordinate care provided by multiple caregivers, such as nurses, social workers, bereavement counselors, and spiritual care. That kind of coordination is largely lacking when it comes to other kinds of care in the home. As the numbers of people receiving care at home continue to increase, we hope this report will serve as a useful reference for those committed to building on that foundation.”
The report was produced by a panel of subject matter experts convened by IHI and funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. It notes that the increase of care provided in the home requires healthcare organizations to be cognizant of the many risks of harm in that setting, including those posed by physical hazards or medical equipment, pressure injuries, infections, poor nutrition, adverse events related to medication or other treatment, and potential abuse or neglect. Home healthcare workers and family caregivers are also at risk of physical and emotional harm and burnout.