Home care of the frail elderly

Abstract

Statistics indicate that as the population ages, there will be an increased need for home care. Despite this increased need and the legal, clinical, and ethical obligations for physicians to participate, little training is available to physicians in the area of home care. This article provides physicians with an understanding of home care and how to incorporate it into clinical practice. The goals of this article are to (1) explain what home care is and what services are available, (2) teach physicians how to access these services and oversee their implementation, and (3) show how physicians can be reimbursed for this increasingly important part of their practice.