Home Based Health Leaders, Unite!

Posted on | March 23, 2010 | Comments Off on Home Based Health Leaders, Unite!

Eric Dishman

I like to think of myself as being a lot like George Clooney. Okay, okay, more like Ryan Bingham, the airport- and airmile-addicted character he plays in the recent movie, Up in the Air. (Except I don’t have his good looks, frequent romantic liaisons with strangers, or a job downsizing other people…other than that, I’m just like George Clooney, er, uh, Ryan.) I tend to talk a lot (this blog probably makes that clear enough). What I mean to say is that I give a lot of public talks…about healthcare reform and innovation for home and community-based care models.

So as I’ve been on the circuit these past few years, talking a lot, traveling a lot to different healthcare conferences and workshops, I have heard the latest on just about every topic: home care, home nursing, home dialysis, home medical equipment, home infusion, nursing homes at home, chronic care at home, concierge care services for the home, and many more. On the one hand, it is gratifying to learn from all of these associations and audiences and to see how much is happening in moving care to the home and community. On the other hand, I have to remember that I’ve got selection bias about where I spend my time…that home-based care is the exception, not the rule, in our nation’s thinking and prioritization of healthcare resources. (CONTINUE….)