Communicating with Home Health: Podcast with Cynthia Boyd

GeriPal - A Geriatrics and Palliative Care Podcast

In this week's GeriPal podcast we talk with Cynthia Boyd, Professor of Medicine and Geriatrician at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine about how physicians communicate with home health agencies. Home health plays a critical role in caring for persons residing at home, and in the best of circumstances extend a seamless network of care from the primary care physician's office to the home. Sadly, reality is not so rosy. The major form of communication between physicians and home health nurses is, well, a form. CMS Form 485 to be specific. In a recent study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, Dr. Boyd revealed that most primary clinicians barely read what the home health nurses write on the form, don't find the form useful, and rarely does it change management. It's the 21st century people. Can we move beyond lame forms and communicate with each other, perhaps using some modern technology? Or even 20th century technology, such as phones, if not 21st Century technology, such as video chats? Listen or read more to learn more. Enjoy!