Health services management research : an official journal of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration
-
Health Serv Manage Res · May 2006
The costs and service implications of substituting intermediate care for acute hospital care.
Intermediate care is part of a package of initiatives introduced by the UK Government mainly to relieve pressure on acute hospital beds and reduce delayed discharge (bed blocking). Intermediate care involves caring for patients in a range of settings, such as in the home or community or in nursing and residential homes. ⋯ It does this by providing a model for evaluating the costs of intermediate care services provided by different agencies and techniques for calibrating the model locally. It finds that consistent application of the techniques over a period of time, coupled with sound planning and accounting, should result in savings to the health economy.