New Course Demonstrates Patient Assessments During House Calls
Watch the preview of the Patient Assessment in Home-Based Primary Care online course.
Get an inside look at a house call with the Home Centered Care Institute’s new Patient Assessment in Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) online course. Through video vignettes, watch Dr. Paul Chiang, HCCI’s Senior Medical and Practice Advisor, who has made over 35,000 house calls, prepare for and conduct a simulated visit with a patient and his caregiver.
“When you see patients in their home, there is so much more you are able to assess about them than you could possibly accomplish in an office visit,” said Melissa A. Singleton, M.Ed., HCCI’s Chief Learning Officer. “What providers learn in this course will equip them to develop and implement a high-quality, patient-centered plan of care.”
The course offers guidance on everything from knowing what to observe upon arrival; conducting the physical exam, along with a fall risk assessment and medication management conversation; doing a walk-through of the home and the patient’s access to nutrition; discussing advance care planning; and bringing the visit to a close.
But the course also goes beyond the usual checklist with extras like observing the neighborhood – including seeing if it’s walkable and having a private moment with the caregiver to see if they need individual support. “In addition to the medical aspects of the visit, the non-medical aspects are important and could be overlooked,” Chiang said. “Taking time to notice the house, photos, decorations, hobbies, etc., are all opportunities to establish a relationship. Building trust with the patient and caregiver is especially important in managing multicomplexity and engaging in end-of-life conversations.”
The on-demand course, which is designated for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, applies to all levels of learners. Those who are new to HBPC will get to virtually shadow an initial simulated visit with a patient and his caregiver and learn how to effectively communicate with them. This includes bringing up difficult conversations like advance care planning, prognostication and goals of care, and stress on the family. More experienced HBPC providers will have the opportunity to validate their own practices against what they see in the videos — and perhaps pick up some “nuggets” they hadn’t previously considered.
We want to hear from you! What are some of your strategies for assessing new or established HBPC patients that might not have been covered in this course? Email us at education@hccinstitute.org, and you will get a $25 discount to use on your choice of HCCI online courses.
Visit the newly redesigned “Online Course” page on our website to see our full list of offerings.