According to estimates from the Small Business Administration, approximately 50% of small businesses fail within the first five years. Only 25% make it to 15 years or more. While a house call program isn’t an IT firm or subscription-based clothing firm, the challenges facing those organizations – that often prove insurmountable – are not all that different.
Research suggests that organizations, and practices, fail due to shortcomings in the following:
- Assessing the market
- Creating a viable business and financial plan
- Hiring enough of the right people
- Patient and caregiver satisfaction
- Flexibility and changing with the environment
Many well-intentioned practitioners who see a need in their area – patients who are no longer able to access traditional primary care – jump in with good intentions of meeting that need. They bring a much-needed model of care to a vulnerable population. What happens too often, however, is those same practitioners find themselves struggling months later, encountering issues with staffing, staff retention, and revenue generation. They work tireless hours for little financial return. The intrinsic rewards of home-based primary care are notable, and the care provided is life-changing for many patients and caregivers. But if the practice isn’t sustainable, all those good intentions and good work are at risk.
HCCI has developed a model for implementing and growing house call programs. Starting with the fundamentals of establishing a business, including researching the market and creating a business plan, the HCCI House Call Implementation Model guides practitioners through the multiple aspects of building and leading a successful practice. While the initial phases of the model are critical and not to be overlooked, the Model is interactive by design, and can be entered at any level. HCCI has developed a rich array of learning opportunities and tools to support practices as they grow and can provide expert assistance whenever additional guidance is requested.
HCCI is dedicated to increasing access to home-based primary care for the millions of chronically ill, medically complex patients who need it. The HCCI House Call Implementation Model supports the work of practitioners who seek to do that, helping them create thriving and sustainable house call practices equipped to provide long-term solutions for their patients.
Click here to download a copy of the model. Contact us to learn how HCCI can support your practice.
A research team consisting of Aaron Yao, PhD, of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Christine Ritchie, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco; Bruce Leff, MD, of Johns Hopkins University and Thomas Cornwell, MD, of the Home Centered Care Institute (HCCI) have recently published a study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society that found frail seniors are going without desperately needed in-home healthcare.
